Ghosts of a Chance
by Genevieve Kelly
Summary: It's All Hallows' Eve, and the Evil Queen knows it's not just a holiday when kids dress up in costumes and go trick or treating. All real magic is stronger this day, than any other day of the year and she has a dark plan to stop the Savior from being able to save anyone ever again by threatening the man she loves in order to destroy Emma's confidence and strength once and for all.
1. Chapter 1

Ghosts of a Chance

Chapter One

After the events of the day, once Emma had dashed her self assurance that the Savior would fail to save Ashley Boyd's life, or to keep the maid turned Princess from killing her Stepmother to make up for the sins of her miserable past, the Evil Queen entered the hospital once most of the staff already had gone home for the evening and the security was down to Sneezy and Bashful keeping watch, then walked into the mental ward towards Mr. Hyde's prison cell and opened its door despite the magic put in place to try to keep her out.

 _C_ _lassic music played over the gramophone while Hyde was sitting on his bunk reading a book until she walked inside, then began to complain about the heroes as she paced back and forth in frustration and finally she said crossly, "It's not fair. Even now the Savior wins."_

 _The villain wearing the special dampening cuffs around his wrists to keep him from escaping his cell, using his immeasurable strength to do so, kept his back to her once he lowered his book and stood up to turn off the record he was listening to, then he responded, "Yes, but for how long?"_

 _"Don't tell me to be patient," Regina's villainess half answered angrily as she continued to pace, until she finally stopped doing so to face the man she had come to see. "Right now, your pathetic half is working on a way to destroy me."_

 _"My sympathies," Hyde callously replied to her when he turned his head towards the Queen, though still without looking directly at her._

 _She began to pace again while she curtly responded, "I'm not asking for your sympathy."_

 _He finally faced her and then answered again, "No… you're asking for my help."_

 _"And that's a tall order to fill… from inside this cell, milady," he sternly added as he rattled his chains to point out to her that he wasn't currently in the position to help her or anyone and walked up to stand before her._

 _"Well, in that case…" the Evil Queen replied as she looked down at the cuffs, then used her dark magic to make them vanish before opening the door as well so they could both leave his cell again together arm in arm. "Let's take a walk."_

They continued walking through the ward's corridors until they came to the stairwell which lead up into the hospital, then she waved her free hand over them to teleport them back to Zelena's farmhouse where they could continue to talk preferably without worrying about the heroes' interference.

When they arrived, the Wicked Witch was putting her daughter to sleep and upon hearing them reappear behind her, she stood up from leaning over Robin's crib as she put her finger to her mouth to shush them, then glared at her sister's doppelganger stating quietly, but curtly, "If you wake my baby, consider this a warning that you will no longer have a place to hideout, or to plot, or anything else you might be up to now, Sis."

After she motioned for them to join her in the kitchen where she was baking an apple pie with her green apples so they could talk more openly without waking her daughter, Zelena snidely continued, "And I never said you could bring friends over to play. Just what the hell is this, Regina? Why have you brought Hyde here?"

"Relax… we've only come here to talk," the Evil Queen responded smugly as she and the other villain sat down at the kitchen table while the older sister pulled the pie out of the oven before it burned, then carefully set it down on the table between them. "Mr. Hyde here has his own place to hide, or places to roam around in. But then… it's not like he really has to worry about being caught again."

"Not now that I know what kind of weapon these heroes have to try," Hyde added smugly. "And they won't be able to catch me again."

The original doppelganger grinned, then looked across the table at the dark haired woman who set him free and asked, "So tell me, Your Majesty… what exactly is my price I must pay for you releasing me from my prison? If you wish for me to help you with your little problem that is Dr. Jekyll, I already have a plan in mind. Not only will it finally rid me of my weaker self, but Rumplestiltskin as well. And I will most certainly destroy the Dark One. I've waited too long to make him pay for all he's done to me. It's time to get what I want."

Regina's evil side leaned forward and smiled as she said, "Not just yet. I promise you, I will help you with your own revenge in due time. But first… we need to go after the Savior once more while she's still a bit shaken from barely being able to save that maid earlier. To weaken her and finish destroying her confidence. And the best way to do that is by hurting the man she loves. They're about the move in together. It's sickening. I need your help if I'm going to pull off what I have planned."

"Are you asking me to kill the Savior's pirate for you?" he questioned curiously. "I almost did once. When he was imprisoned in my world, in my cell along with the Charmings and your older sister. I had my hand around his throat and I squeezed. He was bold enough to question how I knew Rumplestiltskin and tried to lie to me. I regret not killing him then, but he was worthless to me. And your enemies told me what I wanted to know about the Dark One's location and what it was he was up to as of late."

"It's a good thing you didn't kill him when you had the chance," she answered haughtily and then began to cut herself a slice of pie to eat without bothering to ask Zelena if she could.

Zelena threw her hands up in the air in frustration while she curtly uttered, "If you wanted a piece, you could have just asked. I was making that pie for us to share over a friendly chat whenever you came back, but not for him."

She glared down at Hyde and finally just collapsed into another chair farthest away from either of the other villains with her, then the Evil Queen replied, "Well… I'm back now and we're chatting. I'm sorry, for bringing an unexpected guest home, but… here we are. Have a slice."

"Where was I?" she then asked when she turned back to Hyde again in trying to get back to their conversation they were having before Zelena had cut in. "Oh yes… you killing the Savior's love. I told you it's a good thing you didn't kill him back then. Not because I care of course. But because we need him for our plan. And we're not going to kill him now either. We just need a little something from him that I'm suspecting will cause him a lot of pain and suffering. And exactly what it is we want for Emma as well. What I have in mind… won't be simple, but tomorrow happens to be a special day most of this… Land Without Magic call Halloween. Only I prefer All Hallows' Eve. It's a night where real magic grows even stronger and believe me… this will help to make what I have in mind possible. This holiday isn't just a day where kids dress up in costumes and go trick or treating for candy. It's much, much more and from midnight tonight, to midnight tomorrow night, you and I will have the upper hand. And the Savior will be too distracted trying to save her boyfriend to figure out what we're up to next."

"All right," the monster who had been created by his weaker self at last spoke to her in agreement, then cut himself a slice of the pie before him as well when the Evil Queen offered it to him. "I suppose I am intrigued by this plan of yours. And I do owe you for breaking me out of my prison. But once it's finished… succeed or fail, you and are going after the Dark One. It's time I make him pay for what he stole from me."


	2. Chapter 2

Ghosts of a Chance

Chapter Two

Inside Granny's Diner…

Emma and Killian joined her parents for a late dinner at Granny's after they had spent the latter half of the afternoon and early evening with Ashley and her loved ones while also keeping their eyes on Lady Tremaine who had begun her sentence for attempting to kill Ashley and kidnapping Clorinda, as well as her daughter's lover, Jacob, by having the stepmother pick up garbage on Jacob's pumpkin farm under Leroy's supervision. Not because he necessarily needed the help to watch after the villainess, but Emma was sheriff and she felt obligated to be there so Ashley could spend the evening getting to know her sister and Jacob all over again now that they were reunited.

Killian of course had stayed with her. Emma understood it was because apart of him was worried about her and was there to offer her comfort and support after a difficult day. And the truth was that she was grateful for him being there for her like he always was. Which was why she thought back to the advice Archie had given her that morning about being willing to take the next step with the man she loved so deeply, and the day's events while Killian remained by her side helped her to realize just how right the psychiatrist had been, and just how much she was ready to take the next step in her relationship with Killian. That was how she had come to asking him to move in with her and he was only too happy to accept.

Now, they needed to share the good news with her parents, which was why the Savior asked them to meet them there for dinner. Emma was certain her mother would be thrilled to hear they would be moving in together. Her father, however… she wasn't so sure. David and Hook had long since become friends after their adventure in Neverland and all the times the pirate captain fought to prove himself a hero, but there was still a small part of the Prince who hadn't fully accepted him completely for whatever the reasons were he still unknowingly resented Hook. Thankfully, Killian was understanding of her father's slight disdain for him and he never threw it back in David's face either.

So… they arrived within the diner and weren't surprised when they found Snow and David already sitting in one of the booths talking with Regina, Henry, and Violet who all sat at the table waiting knowing that Emma and Killian would be arriving shortly to join the Charmings.

"There you are," Snow immediately said when her daughter and Killian walked over to them, then sat down in their booth across from her parents. "How's Ashley doing? And her sister? Are they going to be okay?"

"They're going to be fine," the Savior answered as she reached out to take Killian's hand and looked over at him, offering him a smile before they turned back to her parents. "Clorinda understands now that what happened between her and Ashley, or… Cinderella that is, was a misunderstanding that was never cleared up on account of the Evil Stepmother forcing her daughter into the Land of Untold Stories. And Ashley almost sacrificed her life to protect her and Jacob, so that certainly helped Clorinda forgive her sister too."

Snow smiled and nodded as she happily replied, "It's so wonderful they could be reunited after all these years."

David smiled too, then he responded, "And I heard about the punishment you served Lady Tremaine with too. From Grumpy of course. He probably had a little too much fun torturing the woman with his personality trait while she picked up trash, but it's the least of what she deserves for what she did."

"You had Grumpy look after that woman while she cleaned up garbage?" Regina questioned, though she sounded impressed and a bit horrified too. "I'm not so sure that's the least of what she deserves at all. Life imprisonment until she can change her ways… if that's even possible for her, sounds a bit more preferable. At least it would be for me."

"Well… Lady Tremaine has earned both after all she's done," Emma answered.

David then asked, "So she's in her prison cell beneath the hospital now then?"

Killian nodded while he replied, "Aye. She is. Secured where she can no longer harm anyone."

"Hello, Henry," one of the teenager's friends from school stated, when Gretel walked inside the diner followed closely by her brother, Hansel, and their father, Michael Tillman who's continued working happily at Marine Garage as their town's mechanic since he found his children even before the first curse had been broken. "Have you spoken to your moms about joining us tomorrow night yet?"

"Tomorrow night?" Regina sternly questioned her son as she looked between him and his friends upon hearing the young girl asking about plans they clearly must have discussed amongst themselves earlier. "What's tomorrow night, Henry?"

Henry looked over at her too, as well as at Emma while he responded, "It's Halloween and we know that we still have to worry about the Evil Queen and whatever Grandpa might be up to right now, but… we were hoping to actually spend tomorrow night watching horror movies and eating candy, caramel apples, and popcorn balls like normal teenagers do. We're too old now to go trick or treating any longer, so… we thought horror movies would be the next best thing."

Upon not understanding what the boy was talking about, Killian looked between him and Emma as he asked, "What's this… Halloween? And what do you mean… watching horror movies? Is that some kind of tradition people do on this day? And what's trick or… what?"

"Trick or treating," Emma answered with a laugh, then reached out to caress his cheek as she thought he was cute for still being completely clueless about somethings such as their holiday traditions. "It's an activity that children do as they dress up in costumes and go knocking on doors asking people for fun treats. Things like candy, caramel apples, popcorn balls, etc…"

"And most teenagers enjoy watching scary movies once they grow to be too old for trick or treating," Snow continued, knowing about such things despite being from the Enchanted Forest thanks to her cursed memories while she had been Mary Margaret under the first dark curse like David and the others living in Storybrooke did aside from a few like Hook, who were never caught up in it and given a cursed persona. "For the fun of the thrill and scares."

Killian shook his head again in confusion as he replied, "I don't understand. I would think the number of villains we've faced and after all the horrors we've seen in the many battles we've fought would be enough of a scare to last a lifetime."

The kids, Charmings, Regina, Michael, and Emma all laughed again, then Emma leaned her head in closer to him as she kissed his cheek and whispered into his ear, "I promise… we'll get into the enjoyment of watching movies, including horror movies sometime soon. They're mostly harmless, although I'm not really a fan of horror movies myself. I agree with you to be perfectly honest. I've seen enough horror in my life without watching it on TV."

"So… can I go?" Henry finally asked again when he looked again between both of his mothers. "To Hansel and Gretel's house that is. Just for the night."

"Of course you can go, kid," the Savior finally responded, though she quickly glanced over at Regina. "So long as Regina's okay with it too."

Henry's adopted mother nodded then as she answered, "Of course you can. Actually, I think it'll be good for you. You'll be someplace safe should my other half attempt another attack."

Michael nodded while he spoke up assuredly saying, "They will be safe. I give you my word nothing will happen to Henry while he's staying with us tomorrow night."

"Thank you," Regina sincerely replied, as she turned her head to look up at the man standing nearby while he waited for Granny to bring out his to go order he placed for himself and for his children.

Granny then came out of the kitchen with a couple of bags in her hands for the mechanic and his family, then quickly returned inside once she gave them over to him in order to bring out the meals the rest of her friends had ordered earlier after their arrival to pass the food around to them at their tables.

"We'll see you tomorrow night, Henry," Hansel said once he, Gretel, and their father turned to leave the diner. "And don't forget that movie with the guy who has long claws. Fred Kroger? It sounded really creepy."

"Freddy Krueger," Henry corrected him. "And the movie's called _Nightmare on Elm Street_. Don't worry. I won't forget. And I've got The Sixth Sense with Brue Willis too. I know you liked him in the Die Hard movies."

Both of the other teenagers smiled and nodded, then the Tillmans said goodbye before they finally left the diner. Emma looked over at Killian again as he smiled at her, then she leaned in closer until the man she loved was holding him in his arms while they looked between her parents once again.

The Savior sat up again when she then continued their conversation from earlier as she stated, "So… Killian and I have some news. While we were keeping watch on Lady Tremaine earlier, I asked him to move in with me. I'm tired of putting my own happiness on hold just because I'm the Savior and we're always busy dealing with villains. I don't want to do that anymore. Besides, Killian picked our house out with help from Henry. He was hoping to ask me to move in before all the trouble in Camelot happened and before we all went down into the Underworld. We want to live together. We love each other. It's the next step in our relationship."

Snow smiled giddily as she responded, "Oh Emma… that's so wonderful. Isn't it wonderful, Charming?"

"I'm not so sure," David answered just as Emma expected him to. "Are you sure moving in is the next step in your relationship?"

"Don't worry, David," Killian continued assuredly while the Prince's wife playfully smacked his arm. "I promise to still be on my best behavior around your daughter. I'm always a gentleman."

The sheriff alongside his daughter glared at him as he replied, "Somehow your assurance doesn't ease my mind too much."

Snow looked between their daughter and her boyfriend again while she spoke again in sincerity, "What your father means, Emma… is that we couldn't be happier and you both have our blessing. Congratulations. And if you need any help decorating your home more so that it suites both of you, please just ask me. I would love to help you."

"I will," Emma responded, then reached across the table to take her mother's hand in her own to squeeze it in gratitude. "Killian's going to return to his ship for tonight so he can check in on Belle and let her know he'll be leaving, then he'll be coming over later. Tomorrow he'll begin to move his things in. We're really happy about this."

"Of course you are," her mother answered excitedly. "It's wonderful. And you two have been through so much together. There's been too much tragedy and pain. It's about time you're finally happy."

Killian nodded while he replied, "Aye. Thank you, Your Highness."

The Princess looked over at him as she quickly responded, "Please, Killian… call me Snow. You don't have to keep acting so formal with me."

"He's hardly ever been formal for me," David retorted curtly. "He calls me David, or Dave all the time. Or mate. He has ever since we met."

"Because you mostly only ever called me pirate," Hook quipped, then smiled. "I didn't see you really deserved my formality. Not until we finally started becoming friends and even then calling you something other than David, Dave, or mate just doesn't suit you. Not to me it doesn't."

Their conversations continued for a little while longer until they all finished eating and then decided it was time to say goodnight so they could all return home. Regina and Henry were the first to leave, as the teenager told his birth mother he would spend the next few nights with Regina so she and Killian could be alone then. David and Snow left next with their son in the Prince's arms. Then finally, Killian kissed Emma one last time before he told her he would see her again soon, as he still needed to return to his ship to look in on Belle.

When he was the first to pull back from their kiss, Killian spoke again softly saying, "I'll see you at your home in a little bit, Swan. And then we can continue this lovely moment in a more… private and romantic setting."

She smiled up at him while their faces remained barely an inch apart and tenderly whispered, "You better believe it. But it's our home now, Killian. As it should have been since Camelot. Had things gone differently that is."

"Aye," her pirate answered, sensing the sadness he then saw in her eyes. "But we're here now. Wait for me."

"Of course," Emma responded, then she pulled away from him and walked around her yellow bug to get into the passenger's side so she could drive home, while Hook stayed where he was as he watched her drive away until he finally began walking down the street towards the harbor.

Killian kept walking. However, he began to sense he was being followed and yet he never turned around, to avoid whoever it was from knowing he was on to them until he at last reached the docks. Then, he changed directions and started walking towards the old boathouse to lead the villain away from his ship… mainly Belle. The Captain finally stopped and cautiously pulled his cutlass from its scabbard, then turned to face the monster he knew was there despite knowing he wouldn't hold up long in a hand to hand fight against him.

Hook looked at him as he said darkly, "Hyde. So…. the Evil Queen helped you to escape from your cell. I don't know why you've been following me, but if you're here to try to kill me again for her… so I can't be here to help protect Emma from whatever else she has planned for her, I promise you… it won't be so easy like I made it for you the last time you tried."

The sinister man just grinned coolly and then answered, "Yes… you might not be so quick to charge at me like you tried through prison bars, but you will still fail and die nonetheless. That is… if I were here to kill you. I'm not. But I do need something from you. And that is apparently going to require a fight you know you're not prepared for."

"Whatever you're after, I won't let you use it to hurt Emma or her family," Killian adamantly replied.

"You have no choice in the matter," Hyde haughtily responded, until his demeanor then turned cold before the villain suddenly charged at the hero with brute force.

Hook defended himself using his sword for as long as he could until Hyde ripped it from his hand and knocked it away after he had thrust it through the doppelganger's chest only to discover it barely hindered his assailant. However, the pirate didn't back down when their fight became a hand to hand battle like Killian expected it would.

Unfortunately, Killian was unable to stop him when Hyde grabbed his left arm covered by the brace holding his hook in place, twisted it behind his back, then suddenly thrust the sharpened point deep into the small of Killian's back dangerously close to his spine. Killian gasped in excruciating pain at the brutal onslaught and fell to the ground once his legs gave out on him, then he struggled to pull his hook and arm free from his body until he finally managed to do so, while the monster remained standing over him.

Hyde callously knelt down beside him to observe the deep wound for a few moments without saying another word while the Captain kept fighting to breathe through his pain and to stay alive. The monster then reached down to pull Killian's left arm up off the ground, unlatched his hook from its brace before pocketing it, and simply walked away leaving the wounded man on the ground knowing it wouldn't be long before someone would find him in time to save his life.

Thankfully for Killian's sake, Belle had heard the commotion of the fight from aboard the deck of the Jolly Roger when she walked out from the Captain's quarters for fresh air and to look up into the night sky. The beauty worryingly stepped down from the gangplank onto the docks, then cautiously walked towards the sounds of the struggle going on in the distance and when she finally saw Hyde standing over whoever he had attacked on the upper level of the docks nearby the old boathouse, she waited below until he walked away.

She cautiously climbed the steps leading up to the upper level so she could try to help whoever the villain hurt, horrified to discover Killian lying there bleeding out in front of her until she immediately rushed over to help him. He was barely conscious and he struggled to speak to her, but she couldn't make out what he was trying to tell her. So instead of trying to understand him, she pulled out her phone and immediately called Emma, telling the Savior to get herself down to the boathouse as soon as possible.


	3. Chapter 3

Ghosts of a Chance

Chapter Three

Meanwhile…

Once she finished speaking with Mr. Hyde and they left Zelena's farmhouse together so they could begin the first phase of their newest plan to hurt the heroes, they parted ways before the Evil Queen magicked herself inside the Charmings' loft, then made her way around the open space in the dark as she searched for what she had come for. She knew the Prince and Princess were out at Granny's with their son, having dinner with their daughter, grandson, and friends. So she broke in while they were all busy celebrating their victory that would soon be short lived as long as this plan of hers went according to plan. And this time, she wasn't planning to make the same mistake of underestimating the Savior's strength until it was crushed beneath her boot's heel.

She walked over to the closet and opened up its door, then began to shuffle through the clothes hanging up inside until she pulled one of David's flannel shirts off its hanger so she could collect a few strands of the Prince's hair. She hung the shirt back up where she pulled it down from so her enemies wouldn't know their apartment had been invaded by her while they were out, then stared at the hairs now in her fingers until she carefully inserted them inside a potion bottle she carried on her within her bosom and replaced it before she moved on.

Regina's doppelganger stepped away from the closet, then looked around the room again as she thought back to some time ago, when she had started training Emma in magic down in her lair and the first real moment she and her other self had seen the raw power which the Savior possessed.

 _Regina and Emma walked down into the Queen's magic vault within her father's mausoleum while Regina spoke to the Savior brusquely saying, "_ _Don't touch anything."_

 _Emma looked around once they were inside as she questioned, "How am I supposed to learn magic if I can't touch anything?"_

 _"The same way I did with Rumple," the dark haired woman replied as she walked up to one of her chests containing some of her magic. "We're going to create a solid foundation first and then build your skills from the ground up."_

 _"I said don't touch," she curtly uttered again after she turned around to face her new student and saw Emma had picked up one of her possessions, then immediately took it from her hand to get her friend to pay attention. "So… while we're here, who's looking after Henry? The Un-Charmings?"_

 _Emma looked over at Regina worryingly as she turned again to open up the chest and then responded, "Actually… Hook is."_

 _Regina looked back at her with surprise while she answered, "Well, those two have been spending a lot of time together lately."_

 _"Hook's good with Henry, and Henry likes him," the blonde honestly replied to her._

 _"He's prone to violence, impulsive, and has a hook for a hand," the former Evil Queen retorted. "What about him would a twelve year old boy not like?"_

 _The Savior looked at her again while in Hook's defense she responded, "I trust him. He brought me back to Storybrooke, and he didn't have to."_

 _Regina continued to search her things within the chest as she answered, "Oh. Of course he brought you back."_

 _"What's that supposed to mean?" Emma then asked her when she didn't understand what she was getting at._

 _"Seriously?" Regina questioned in disbelief. "You're going to pretend everyone doesn't see the yearning looks and doey eyes?"_

 _The younger woman rolled her eyes in frustration as she replied, "I don't yearn."_

 _The Queen demurely jibed, "Well, maybe. But he does."_

 _"Let's start with roots for incantations," she then continued when she turned back to her task at hand, picked up her mother's book of magic from inside the chest, and showed it to Emma._

 _"Are you kidding me right now?" Emma asked as she stared down at the page opened to her in confusion. "What language is this… Spanish?"_

 _Regina kept her eyes on her while she curtly responded, "We're not making tapas. We're making magic. It's Elvish. Well… half Elvish."_

 _The Savior anxiously answered, "I'm never gonna get this. Is this how Rumple taught you? Just think about your training. What other methods did he use?"_

 _"Rumple was a bully," the other woman coldly replied. "He didn't suffer fools, and he certainly didn't coddle his students. And if he tried to teach you how to swim and you couldn't learn… you drowned."_

 _"Drowned?" Emma questioned again while Regina returned the spell book to the chest again and slammed its lid closed._

 _And it was then that the former Evil Queen suddenly got a better idea on how she could try to force Emma's magic out as she uttered, "That's it."_

 _The blonde haired woman looked at her worryingly upon seeing a mischievous look on her friend's face as she asked, "That's what?"_

 _"What the hell are you doing?" she then shouted fearfully once Regina suddenly used her powers to transport Emma and herself out to a rickety bridge within the woods over a high ravine and a raging river down below, putting the Savior in the middle of its wooden planks while she remained safely on land in front of her._

 _"Teaching you to swim," Regina smugly responded._

 _Emma looked down over the side, then looked back at her as she asked angrily, "Are you out of your mind?!"_

 _The Queen sternly answered, "Every time you've exhibited your power, it's been spurred by your instincts. So today, we're going to push those instincts until you master them."_

 _"A little reading doesn't sound so bad now," the blonde nervously replied._

 _"You can stop me," Regina responded._

 _Seeing the same look in her eyes again, the Savior curtly asked, "Stop you from what?"_

 _The dark haired smiled coolly again while she answered, "This."_

 _All of a sudden, Regina swiftly began to destroy the bridge one plank at a time, then Emma questioned again like before, "What the hell are you doing?!"_

 _"Making the bridge collapse," her friend haughtily, if not sinisterly replied. "You can either stop it… Or die."_

 _"Aah!" the younger woman screamed out of fear when she suddenly began to fall until she immediately grabbed hold of the ropes still holding up what little remained of the bridge now missing all of its planks including the ones beneath Emma's feet. "Regina! Enough! Stop this!"_

 _"No… you stop it," Regina forcefully responded to her. "No more hand holding. You have to do this. Reach into your gut. You know you can do this. It's inside you, Emma. Save the bridge. Save yourself."_

 _Emma screamed out again when she could no longer hold on and fell as the ropes broke apart, but much to Regina's surprise and short lived relief, the Savior amazingly used her powers to build a new bridge which raised her back up before she fell to her death and carried her over to Regina, then she anxiously asked, "Did I… Did I just do that?"_

 _The Queen glared at her in frustration while she answered, "Yes. When all I wanted was for you to retie the rope."_

 _"It was like you said…" Emma replied. "Instinct. Why are you pissed? I did it. Why does it matter how?"_

 _Regina curtly retorted, "You think I'm mad because you didn't listen to me? I'm mad because… Look at all this potential inside of you, and you've been wasting it."_

At last, the Evil Queen finally pulled herself away from her thoughts as she let out a frustrated groan upon the memory's end and when she remembered how she felt when Emma defied her and outmatched her without hardly harnessing her power before then. However, she didn't dwell on her frustration for long because she suddenly heard a key being inserted into the lock on the door from the other side as the Charmings' returned home. But just when they opened the door to walk inside, she swiftly magicked herself from the loft to vanish before they could see she had ever been there.

The villainess transported herself outside of Gold's Pawnshop, then walked inside despite the shop being closed and the door locked, hoping the Dark One would be there so she could speak to him about collecting a few more items that would help her in her new endeavor. It didn't surprise her much to find that he wasn't. So without waiting for him to return, she slowly began to search through his things for what she needed.

It didn't take long for her to find a long stemmed red rose Rumplestiltskin had long ago preserved under a spell to keep it so standing alone within a thin vase that had been pushed back into a corner upon one of the glass shelves in a display case. She quickly transported it away onto Zelena's kitchen table, then she continued searching.

After scanning the other cases, even upon opening the hidden shelves in seeking out a specific trinket, Regina's doppelganger realized such an item probably wouldn't be kept in some place so easily found, so she turned the painting on the wall behind the main counter within the back of the room that hid the safe behind it. However, before she could even go near it, Gold suddenly walked in on her from the back room.

The Dark One looked at her calmly as he questioned, "Are you looking for something in particular, dearie? Perhaps we could discuss a deal for whatever you're after. Because you know it's unwise to steal from me."

"I know," she responded coyly. "I do. So… I was hoping I could ask you if you have anything belonging to an old enemy of us both. The Savior sadly thwarted my last plan to weaken her, but I have a new plan in mind that involves hurting… yet another one of your enemies who has been a thorn in your side for over two hundred years. Honestly, I'm surprised Captain Hook has lived this long after everything he's done to get his revenge."

"It's not for the lack of trying, I assure you," Gold answered darkly, then his demeanor changed as the features on his face softened. "What is it you want? To which other enemy are you referring?"

The Evil Queen smiled and then replied, "Pan. You wouldn't happen to have something that belonged to him, do you? Surely you must. Even if it's left over from your childhood. Back before your father became that obnoxious, evil little boy?"

The Dark One looked at her curiously while he asked, "Now how would something that belonged to my father help you to destroy Captain Hook?"

"Well… he and Pan were enemies too, weren't they?" she responded in question. "I can promise you that whatever you might have… won't go to waste. Tomorrow is Halloween and you know as well as I do that our powers will be even stronger come the stroke of midnight tonight. If you're really curious about what I have planned, you'll know where you can find me at that time. I know you have eyes and ears everywhere in this town just like I do. So…?"

"It just so happens…" he started to answer, then paused as he walked behind the back counter and pulled a square shaped box from one of the shelves within the glass case before he opened its lid to reveal a wooden flute which Pan had used long ago to lure away those he had later come to call his Lost Boys with. "…that I do have something you can use. I took this from him when we were in Neverland. Do with it as you like. And Your Majesty… good luck. I'll be very impressed should you actually succeed in your endeavor. Whatever it may be."

The villainess smiled at him and reached down to pick up the musical instrument still imbued with Peter Pan's power. While its magic could do nothing for her, it wasn't the magic she was after. Then, she raised her hand and waved it to vanish again from the pawnshop once more so she could collect one last item needed for her to move forward in her plan.


	4. Chapter 4

Ghosts of a Chance

Chapter Four

Back in Storybrooke's harbor…

"Please… just hold on a little longer, Killian," Belle pleaded with her close friend who has risked his life to protect her from her own husband after she had finished speaking with Emma, while she firmly kept her hands pushed up against the deep wound in his lower back to try to stifle his blood flowing out of his body despite her efforts. "Emma's going to be here any moment. She'll heal you. You're going to be okay."

"Hy… Hyde… he's free," Killian weakly uttered again in continuing to try to let her know the trouble that was coming for them. "They… they're trying… Emma…"

Unfortunately, he lost his battle with consciousness before he could say more, but thankfully, the Savior arrived just then as she magicked herself at the opposite end of the upper dock behind the boathouse from her house seconds after Belle hung up on her. When she saw the beauty kneeling over the man she loved as she struggled to keep him alive, Emma immediately ran to him while she cried out his name in fear and fell to her knees beside him once she reached him.

She gently laid one hand over his chest so she could hold him while she healed him, but when she laid her hand over the ugly wound she could see in his back now that she was with him to try, her hand began to shake like it had earlier that afternoon while she struggled to heal Ashley too. Only this time, it shook much worse because she was terrified to lose him.

Emma closed her eyes when tears began to fall heavily down her cheeks upon feeling Killian's life slipping away from her as she held him because her fear of losing him was preventing her magic from flowing through her enough to save him, then she spoke more to herself pleadingly saying, "Please… please work. I won't lose Killian again. Please."

Belle laid her hand gently over her shoulder while she softly responded, "You can do this, Emma. You can save him. Killian believes in you, more than anyone. Whatever's happening to you… just shut out your fear and think only of him. Of your love for him."

"I'm not sure how much longer that's going to help me," the Savior replied to her in frustration, then breathed in and out to try to collect herself and at last, her hand stopped shaking while her power began to flow through her again into Killian as his wound slowly closed. "I love you, Killian. You're still a survivor and in my eyes, you always will be."

Once the wound finally healed and his blood stopped flowing through her fingers, she lifted her hand away and pulled him up from the ground into both of her arms to hold him while she waited for him to awaken again. When only seconds passed, for Emma they felt more like hours until at last, Killian gasped and weakly opened his eyes only to find himself looking up into the eyes of the woman he loved, as she couldn't keep a laugh of relief from escaping her lips before she lovingly smiled down at him while she tenderly caressed his cheek.

"You did it, Emma," Belle said softly, feeling her own sense of relief upon seeing her friend was going to be okay.

Emma then leaned over him to kiss him while he kissed her in return, until she pulled away again so she could help him sit up and finally whispered, "Thank God I was able to heal you in time. I almost couldn't. My hand shook… God, Killian… I'm so sorry."

Killian gently shook his head and answered, "You've nothing to apologize for, love. You saved me."

"But Hyde…" he suddenly stated again more urgently upon remembering his assault after the villain had come up behind him. "Swan… the Evil Queen set him free. They're working together so they can hurt you, or… or maybe your family. He didn't reveal much before he attacked."

"It's okay," she responded to him assuredly, then carefully lifted up his leather jacket and shirt so she could get a closer look at his back where he had been wounded just to make sure her power really had healed him all the way like she hoped, finding a dark red scar left behind no doubt on account of her magic not working as well as it should. "We'll figure out what they're up to together. Just like we always have. Your wound is healed, but… you're still hurt. It looks like you're going to be hurting for awhile, unless… unless I get Regina to finish healing you for me. Come on… let's get back to my place."

While both woman worked to help him stand, it was only then that Emma finally noticed his hook was missing and she looked up at him worryingly while she spoke again saying, "Your hook… Is that… Is that what Hyde used to hurt you? Why would he take it?"

The Captain sighed as he looked down at his bare brace, then replied, "Aye. He used my hook. Although, I've no idea why he would want to take it with him, or why he tried to kill me other than maybe to keep me from being around to protect you. I do vaguely remember him saying something about how I wouldn't have any choice in the matter. I just don't know what he meant, only… he might not have stabbed me to kill me. He must have known you would arrive in time to save me. Or that Belle was nearby. And if I'm right, then… I'm not sure. My hook is nothing more than just a piece of metal and if our villains wanted it for its key to my ship's safe hidden in the latch, they'll be quite disappointed. I've nothing of real value inside it, except maybe to me."

"Well, it's like I said… we'll figure everything out together," the Savior answered sadly and then turned again to the beauty still standing with them. "Thank you, Belle. For being here to keep Killian alive until I could get to him."

"Aye, love," Killian immediately said to her in agreement while he looked at Belle as well. "Thank you. Truly."

She looked between her friends as she responded, "You're both welcome. I'm only glad I was where I was when I heard the sounds of his fight against Hyde. I was standing aboard your ship. Out on the deck so I could look up at the stars and I heard a commotion far off in the distance. The winds over the ocean must have carried the sounds in my direction. Otherwise, I never would have been here. I arrived just in time to see Hyde standing over Killian before he walked away. You both should go. Go find Regina so she can finish healing you. I need to get to bed for my baby."

Emma smiled and then tightened her hold around Killian as she transported them both back to their home after they said their goodbyes to Belle so she could return again to the Jolly Roger. Once they arrived, the Savior helped him to sit down on the couch in the living room and quickly texted Regina asking her to come over to help them, then turned back to Killian again so she could help him at least to pull off his jacket.

While she did so, the pirate who loved her looked at her in admiration, then he whispered, "I owe you my thanks too, Emma. Whether you think so or not. I didn't exactly say so before, but I should have."

"You don't ever have to say the words," the Savior replied gently once she looked back into his eyes again when she finished. "I know how grateful you've been to me ever since our understanding we came to before you offered your ship and your services to help us save Henry from Pan. Sometimes, I can't help wonder why it is you ever came to trust me again after I left you up and that beanstalk, and yet… you did."

"Eventually," she then added as she smiled at him.

Killian glanced down before he looked back up at her again and then answered, "I was angry with you for awhile, but… despite that anger and my lust for revenge, I eventually came to understand why you did as you did. You needed to get back home to your boy. And I was a villain. You fought with love and a strength I've never before seen in anyone. That was only a small part of why it was so easy for me to fall in love with you."

Emma leaned in close so they could kiss again while she held his face tenderly in her hands, until they were interrupted by Regina when she and Henry suddenly appeared before them, then the Mayor grumbled, "And here I thought you needed my help rather urgently. Next time, warn me you need a few extra minutes before I come to make sure you're both still alive so I don't have to walk in on you kissing ever again."

"Sorry about that," the younger woman responded when she and Killian quickly pulled apart upon their arrival, then she remembered her reason for asking Regina to come. "We do need your help, Regina. Killian was attacked by Hyde. He nearly killed him when that monster stabbed him in his back with his hook. I was able to heal most of his wound, but…"

"…I couldn't all the way," Emma finished after she carefully pulled Killian forward, then lifted up his shirt again to show her the scar left behind, causing him to wince and let out a quiet moan in pain. "Sorry. My hand was shaking even worse than before. I'm guessing these tremors… or my stress is starting to cause my powers to go on the fritz. I need you to finish healing him for me. Please, Regina."

While Henry walked over to stand beside his birth mother and waited silently, Regina moved over to Hook, then leaned down so she could look more closely at the scar herself before she did as Emma asked her to, until what remained of the wound finally vanished like it was never there.

The Queen then looked over at Emma again as she stated, "You really ought to get whatever's going on with you under control, Miss. Swan. Somehow. Otherwise, eventually you might not be able to heal those you love at all. You were both lucky. Did Hyde say what he wanted?"

However, before she or Killian could answer her, Snow and David suddenly rushed through the door and towards them while the Princess worryingly asked, "Emma… we got Henry's message saying you were in trouble. Are you alright?"

"We're fine," their daughter honestly replied, then looked between her parents in confusion. "How… how did you get here so fast? We only just got back here ourselves and sent Regina a message asking for help minutes ago.

"We got in my truck and I drove us here as quickly as possible, as soon as we heard," her father answered and shrugged. "Are you sure you're okay? What happened?"

The Savior looked over at Killian again, then turned back to all those now standing in front of them and responded, "It's a long story. The short version is that Hyde's free again thanks to the Evil Queen. He attacked Killian down at the docks behind the boathouse. Almost killed him by stabbing him in his back with his hook. I healed him, except my tremors prevented me from doing so all the way. Regina finished because I couldn't. We don't know what Hyde really wanted, but he stole Killian's hook. They're up to something."

Regina let out a groan in frustration, then replied, "I knew I should have somehow reinforced the protection spell I put up over his cell with a little more magic my other self wouldn't have been able to break through so easily. Whatever they're planning, it's not going to be good."

"When is it ever good?" Henry rhetorically asked sternly, then looked over at Killian with concern. "Are you sure you're alright? You've been through a lot lately."

"No more so than anyone else here," the Captain answered him, then nodded his thanks for the boy's concern for him. "I'm fine, lad. I'm more shaken about not knowing whatever these villains plan to use my hook for and who they're going to hurt with it next. We need to find them."


	5. Chapter 5

Ghosts of a Chance

Chapter Five

After she vanished from Gold's Pawnshop, the Evil Queen magicked herself next onto the Jolly Roger and began to look around the ship's main and upper decks, expecting to find the beauty somewhere aboard. However, she wasn't. At least not anywhere above. The villainess made one of her mirrors appear into her hands so she could find out if Belle was below deck and within the glass, she saw Gold's wife was standing on the docks with Emma and Hook, then smiled when she knew she was clear to seek out the last item she had come for.

Regina's doppelganger turned towards the stairs leading down inside the vessel and started towards them, until Hyde walked up the gangplank, then stood before her as she turned around to face him as well while he stated sternly, "Not to worry… the Dark One's wife isn't here."

The Evil Queen answered, "I know. I just saw. I have eyes everywhere, remember? She's out on one of these docks with Emma and Hook. I thought you were out doing what I needed you to do. You're here in the harbor where the Savior's pirate is… Did you do it?"

"I did," the sinister man responded confidently, while he pulled Killian's bloodied hook from within his inside coat pocket and held it up for her to see as she walked up to him so she could take it from him. "Belle is currently busy keeping the pirate from bleeding out."

"Actually, it appears the Savior arrived in time to heal him," she crossly replied as she looked into his eyes. "I told you to get me his hook and some of his blood, but I warned you not to kill him. You're lucky Belle and Emma were there. Just where did you stab him?"

Hyde grinned and then answered, "In his lower back, just near his spine. Relax. I knew the beauty was nearby. The Captain and I fought a little before I wounded him. She must have heard us from wherever she might have been during our confrontation, then came running to help him as soon as I walked away. If Emma's with them now, she obviously called her to come save him and has clearly succeeded. You got what you wanted, milady. Just say thank you, collect whatever it is you've come for here, then let's continue on with your plan. I'm losing patience the longer I have to wait to get my own vengeance."

The Evil Queen turned her back to him and continued to make her way down below deck while Hyde followed her, then they walked inside the Captain's quarters. They looked around the room until Regina spotted a safe tucked inside one of the cabinets built into the wall closest to Hook's bed in a corner of the room and used the key in the end of the hook to open it, searched it for something she hoped she would find inside, then pulled out a piece of paper with a charcoaled drawing the pirate had drawn a long time ago. She finally folded it in half and placed it inside her corset along with the bottle containing David's hairs, then together she and the other villain vanished from the ship until they reappeared inside Regina's vault within the cemetery.

Hyde released a sigh of frustration while he looked around the new room and then he asked, "So what are we doing now? I take it this room full of books and potions… belongs to the real Regina?"

"I'm every bit as real as she is!" the doppelganger retorted angrily as she glared at her ally. "I'm better than she could ever hope to be."

"You're right," he responded soothingly in order to calm her again. "I don't doubt that. I was only curious. What more can I do to help you?"

She walked over to the cauldron within the middle of the room and got to work in brewing a magic potion using a number of ingredients from Regina's collections while she replied, "Right now, all I need is for you to stand by so I can complete the finishing touches of our plan. This is where it gets a little complicated… but fun."

The Evil Queen continued working until at last she added the last ingredient needed for the potion itself, before adding the items she spent the last hour collecting to it. When done, she magicked each of them onto the chest beside her and pulled the long stemmed red rose from its vase and held it up in front of her eyes to get a closer look at it.

Hyde questioned, "You stole just a simple red rose?"

"I promise you that everything I've taken isn't at all what they seem," she answered smugly. "And they're anything but simple. This rose for example… isn't actually a rose at all. Or at least it wasn't until Rumplestiltskin turned him into one. The beauty's ex fiancé. He came to the Dark One's castle to try to rescue his love when the imp took her to become his maid, but Rumplestiltskin murdered him before he even got through the front doors. Now what's left of him is here in my hands."

"You certainly have me curious," the original doppelganger responded while he watched on as his ally pulled off the stem and crushed the rose petals until they magically became nothing but red powder in the palm of her hand, then poured it into her potion.

Next… she pulled out the bottled hairs from inside her bosom, uncorked its top, and dumped them into the cauldron as well, then also pulled out the drawing. The Evil Queen unfolded the paper at stared at the Captain's former lover's face for a moment before she then blew over it so that the charcoal he had used to draw it lifted from the paper and became particles floating in front of her until she guided them into her potion like the other items. And lastly, she did the same with her final item she was given from Gold.

She reached over to the chest again to pick up the box containing Pan's wooden flute and opened it up so she could pull out the instrument. When she did so, she didn't destroy it like she had done with everything else, but instead she simply inserted the flute inside the boiling waters within the cauldron and allowed her magic to absorb what it needed from it.

The monster with the Queen finally spoke again as he asked, "What kind of potion is this?"

Regina smiled as she stared into her cauldron and then replied, "This, Mr. Hyde… is a tethering potion. Now, we just need our weapon."

"The pirate's hook," Hyde said when he then understood the first idea of hers since they had started working together that evening, as she summoned the hook into her hands and carefully dipped the pointed end of the still bloodied hook into her potion, keeping it immersed until the tether was at last complete. "You've created tethering potions before. Haven't you?"

"Not often, but I have a time or two," she answered softly, then lifted the hook again and held it up in front of her eyes to observe her good work. "We have one final step and this is the one that is the most difficult to do. Which is why we need to wait until midnight, so that my magic will be even stronger. Thankfully, midnight isn't very far off."

Jekyll's doppelganger nodded seeming impressed and then he responded, "If this… All Hallows' Eve, or Halloween as you called this day, really strengthens all magic within this world… I'm surprised neither your other self, nor especially the Dark One, have ever taken advantage of this surge. Why didn't you while you and Regina were still one being? Back when she was still… the Evil Queen?"

The villainess finally turned again to face him and raised her free hand above her head as she prepared to teleport them away, then haughtily replied, "Who says we never have?"

She magicked them from the vault, then together they reappeared again on the shore of the lake within Storybrooke Heritage Park, which the Evil Queen also knew to be a portal to the Underworld. Upon their arrival, she looked around her knowing that Gold would be hiding somewhere nearby to observe what she had planned. However, she didn't see him and knew that he didn't want her to. So instead, she simply looked up at the moon and stared into it while she waited for midnight to come.

Minute after minute passed by while both villains patiently waited, until she summoned her mirror again and conjured an image of the clock tower so she could watch as the hands reached the magic hour. Once they finally did, The Evil Queen put away her mirror again, then created a fireball within both palms of her hand. Only, as she did so, she increased the heat of her power until they were burning far hotter than she's ever been able to do before.

"It's time," she whispered smugly as she put out the flames, then summoned Killian's hook again and used her strengthened power over it to bind the tethering potion and the items used within it so her magic wouldn't burn out. "Are you ready to find out exactly what is up my sleeves, Mr. Hyde?"

"More than you know," he coolly answered.

Regina's doppelganger bent down over the dark murky waters to dip her weapon into them so Hook's blood would soak in to open the portal, then she and Hyde stood back and waited. Seconds later, the mist rolled in over the lake before them. However, instead of the boatman who usually rowed out to meet his passengers so he could bring the new souls down into the Underworld, four mindless souls of those who had been forced into the River of Lost Souls during the heroes' escapade to save Captain Hook suddenly flew out from within the fog and started to fly towards those living to attack them. But the Evil Queen immediately raised the pirate's hook up above her head to force them to stop so they would realize they had been tethered to the weapon, and that she was in control of them.

Each of them merely floated above the two dark sides to their counterparts while staring down at them in wait, as the villains looked up at them too, then Hyde asked, "What are they? Or who are they?"

The Queen smiled as she lowered the hook down in front of her chest and then responded, "Poor souls who were once among the living, as well as the dead within the Underworld, until they became… Well, these. Thanks to a very powerful river in the land of the dead. Gaston… the beauty's former fiancé, another villain much like ourselves known as Peter Pan, James… a Prince and identical twin brother of the Savior's father, both of whom share the same DNA, and Milah… the woman once loved by Captain Hook until Rumplestiltskin murdered her by crushing her heart in front of him. It's why the pirate swore revenge against the Dark One until Emma made him weak.

"And why have you brought them here?" the monster asked again when he turned away from the souls to look over at her.

"For reasons we've already discussed," she replied with a cruel smile on her face. "To help me weaken the Savior so she cannot save anyone else, ever again."

Hyde nodded at last in understanding, then he uttered, "A bit extravagant, but I like it."

The Evil Queen glanced over at him, then raised her head to turn her attention back on the lost souls while she spoke darkly in command saying, "Each of you know who your new tether belongs to, whether you knew the pirate in your lifetime or not. So go and haunt him like the mindless tormented ghosts you are… until you destroy him. But do so slowly. We can't have the Savior's true love dying too soon. Where would the fun in that be?"


	6. Chapter 6

Ghosts of a Chance

Chapter Six

Once Emma's family and their friends left their home again after they continued talking a little longer, she and Killian went upstairs to prepare themselves for bed. It was a long day for the both of them and they were both exhausted, more so because of how weary they felt upon being targeted by Hyde and the Evil Queen while Killian was nearly killed, than simply just being tired. He had been healed. However, Emma was still worried about him, especially when she walked out of the bathroom to find the man she loved sitting on the bed while staring off at nothing halfway through taking off his vest and shirt upon becoming lost in his thoughts that were no doubt troubling to him.

Sadly she was right, as Killian couldn't help but think back to his confrontation with Hyde while he looked at him as he said darkly, "Hyde. So…. the Evil Queen helped you to escape from your cell. I don't know why you've been following me, but if you're here to try to kill me again for her… so I can't be here to help protect Emma from whatever else she has planned for her, I promise you… it won't be so easy like I made it for you the last time you tried."

The sinister man just grinned coolly and then replied, "Yes… you might not be so quick to charge at me like you tried through prison bars, but you will still fail and die nonetheless. That is if I were here to kill you. I'm not. But I do need something from you. And that is apparently going to require a fight you know you're not prepared for."

"Whatever you're after, I won't let you use it to hurt Emma or her family," Killian adamantly answered.

"You have no choice in the matter," Hyde haughtily responded, until his demeanor then turned cold before the villain suddenly charged at the hero with brute force.

 _The Captain shook his head to try to clear his mind again before he could remember being stabbed in his back with his hook, then struggled to think back to a happier moment as he remembered back to earlier that evening when Emma had asked him to move in with him and saw himself sitting on a patio outside of Jacob's pumpkin farm while he spoke quietly to her saying, "_ _She really was brave… Ashley."_

 _As they looked ahead of them at Ashley with her husband, sister, and Clorinda's fiancé as well, the woman he loved replied, "Putting love before life."_

 _"Exactly," Killian stated, then Emma reached up as she tenderly began to play with his hair on the back of his head._

 _"Move in with me," she suddenly blurted out while she turned to look over at him, taking him completely by surprise._

 _He had to think a second as he tried to grasp what she had just asked of him, then raised his eyebrow in question and turned to face her while he asked, "What?"_

 _The Savior smiled at him as she continued, "Move in with me. I know everything in life is uncertain, but sometimes you have to walk out the door and hope there's not a bus."_

 _"I mean… I have a closet full of red jackets," she added to try to clarify for him what she was trying to tell him after he chuckled in confusion. "I feel like I could make some space for some black leather."_

 _"Well… when you put it like that, then I would love to move in with you," Killian answered happily and then leaned in closer to her so he could kiss her, while Emma lovingly kissed him back._

The pirate was finally pulled out of his thoughts when Emma walked over to sit down on her bed beside him and gently wrapped her arms around him while she reached up to caress the right side of his face, then spoke tenderly saying, "Everything's going to be okay, Killian. I know you're worried about whatever Hyde and the Evil Queen are planning. And that you're thinking we should go after them tonight before they can carry anything out, but… it's late and you're even more exhausted than I am. Please don't try to deny it."

He shook his head while he looked over into her eyes at last and replied, "No… you're right, love. I am. And it isn't smart to go after them when we don't have any idea what we might be up against."

"I just…" Killian continued again after he took a moment to try to think about what was really bothering him. "What could they possibly want with my hook and why… Why did Hyde say I would have no choice when I warned him I would never let them hurt you? I don't understand, Emma. And I'm worried."

"I know," the woman who loved him answered, as she worried more about him than herself just then before she swiftly magicked his fake hand from aboard his ship into her free hand and carefully latched it into his brace in place of his hook until they would be able to get it back. "This is only temporary. I'll get your hook back for you, Killian. And we'll stop Hyde and the Evil Queen before they can harm anyone else. But for tonight, we need to sleep so we can do that."

Killian looked into her eyes again while she began to carefully finish pulling off his vest and shirt for him to help make him more comfortable before they laid down together, then he responded, "I know. I'm not sure what I would do if I ever lost you again, Emma. Losing you to Pan's curse during that missing year was unbearable for me and… and we weren't even together back then. Now that we are…"

She laid her fingers over his mouth to quiet him as she replied, "Shhh… that's never going to happen again. Please try to relax. I'm right here. You won't ever have to sleep all alone anymore. This is your home now too. And I'll be right here. Right beside you."

"Lay down," Emma whispered once more after she pulled off the straps helping to keep his brace in place over him arm as well and helped him do so while she laid down on the bed beside him, then Killian wrapped his arms arounds her body to hold her.

"I love you, Emma Swan," he answered softly, then finally closed his eyes to allow himself to drift off to sleep.

The Savior smiled and leaned deeper into his embrace as she responded, "I love you too… Killian Jones."

Unfortunately, their peace didn't last much longer, as the lost souls from the Underworld suddenly flew into the upstairs bedroom of their home through the walls and hovered over the pirate captain momentarily, until they finally entered Killian's body to begin to haunt him like they were commanded to do.

Inside Killian's mind…

The Captain walked up from his quarters aboard the Jolly Roger onto the deck while he looked around him in confusion, not remembering how he wound up there after he last remembered laying down with Emma in their home. He was completely unaware his mind and body had been taken over by four mindless souls from the Underworld who were lost within the Green River like those he and Arthur had fought to get the woman he loved the pages needed for her to defeat Hades, just before Zeus returned him home to her.

However, before Killian had much of a chance to try to figure out what was happening to him, he was disrupted when a familiar voice which couldn't possibly be spoken sounded from behind him until he turned around and came face to face with Milah as she said quietly, "Hello again, Killian. It's good to see you."

"Milah?" he questioned in disbelief while he stared into her gray eyes in confusion. "But how… This isn't possible. You can't… you can't be real."

"You're right," her former lover coolly replied while she kept her eyes trained on him as well and slowly made her way towards him. "I'm not real. At least not in the way you're seeing me right now. Not anymore. We're in your head. This is nothing more than a dream… or a nightmare. But not one like those you've had since you've come back from the Underworld thanks to Zeus. Where I died… again. You're looking good. Turning away from piracy has been good for you. Emma Swan has been good for you. Only, I'm not so sure you deserve this life with her you've made for yourself. Not after all you've done in the two lifetimes you've lived and then some."

He looked at the woman he loved long before he ever met Emma in confusion as he asked, "What do you mean you're not real in the way I'm seeing you, Milah? That we're in my head? Are you real or not?"

Her eyes darkened and then she answered, "Perhaps you shouldn't have been so quick to believe my husband… when he told you what happened to me was caused by Hades! You're not going to make it out of this alive, Killian… but you should know that I blame you for my becoming another one of Hades' mindless tormented husks, as much as I blame him. I lost my chance to be with my son… because of you."

"Now that certainly sounds more like the real Captain Hook I know," Pan then said cruelly when he too suddenly appeared alongside the Dark One's wife. "Not the filthy pirate turned so called hero because of the Savior. That's right, Killian… I'm in your head too. And we're not alone."

"Who else is with you?" Killian anxiously questioned again as he looked between the ghosts standing before him.

All of a sudden, James stepped up behind the Captain upon appearing from out of nowhere, and swiftly forced a dagger up to his throat, then haughtily responded, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you face to face, Hook. I've heard about the great Captain Hook through a number of soldiers I once fought with, as well as from my father after he learned you've robbed him of his treasures a number of times. I wish he would have sent me to hunt you down to kill you when I was alive. How is it that my brother ever came to consider you a friend enough to risk his life to save you from Hell itself, let alone allow his daughter to love a filthy pirate like you?"

Hook turned his head and eyes slightly in the direction of the dead Prince holding a blade to his neck and replied, "Believe me… not a day goes by that I don't wonder the same thing. But he does consider me friend and his daughter does love me nonetheless. So I thank whatever fates or Gods above every day for my life turning out as it has."

"I once thought I might be able to believe the same thing about me and Belle when we first became engaged, but then she went and fell in love with a beast all because she wanted to be a hero like some fictional character in a book," Gaston curtly retorted when he too appeared among them as well. "You and I never met. And I became like the rest of those here because of the Dark One… but like them I'm forced to destroy you. So here we are."

"Trapped inside your mind together… for as long as it takes for us to do just that," Pan continued smugly, then walked up to Hook to stand in front of him before he reached down to pull out the Captain's flask from his belt and suddenly swung it hard across the side of Killian's face to knock him unconscious.


	7. Chapter 7

Ghosts of a Chance

Chapter Seven

The next morning…

Henry awoke early before his adopted mother even did and quickly got himself dressed and ready to go out, then wrote Regina a note telling her he was going to Granny's to meet up with Violet, Hansel, and Gretel for breakfast before they spent the day together. And while he was telling the truth about doing so, because he had texted Violet, as well as the brother and sister before he went to sleep the night before asking them if they wanted to hang out longer than they planned to, the teenager decided he would first head out to Zelena's farmhouse where he knew the Evil Queen has been living since her arrival in Storybrooke so he could try to talk to her about why she sent Hyde to attack Hook, simply for his hook. He knew she would never hurt him, no matter how evil she was.

It took him awhile to walk out to the Wicked Witch's home through the woods, but when he finally arrived, he knocked on her door and Zelena answered it moments later as she stared at her sister's son in confusion, then asked, "What are you doing here? Did Regina send you? I don't why she would."

He looked at her as well while he plainly responded, "No. I came here because I need to talk with your other sister. We all know she's staying here. Or at least I do. Because she hopes you'll side with her instead of my mom."

"Why would you risk your life by coming here… without either of your mothers?" she questioned inquisitively, then finally motioned for him to come inside. "You know what? I don't really care. So long as you don't wake my baby, do whatever you want. Except for raiding my fridge. Don't do that either."

"Is the Evil Queen even here?" the teenager asked her once he took a seat at the kitchen table.

Zelena sat down across from him as she answered, "Actually… she stepped out early this morning. Even earlier than you. I don't know why, but I was a bit surprised to be honest. She came in pretty late last night after she finished… whatever it is she's been up to. She really doesn't tell me hardly anything."

Henry looked at his aunt again while he replied, "I think you know more than you might think you do. Do you know why she freed Mr. Hyde? Or why she sent him to attack Hook last night?"

"I told you I didn't," she retorted in frustration. "Stop interrogating me, or I'll throw you right back out of here and you can wait for Her Majesty out in the cold. Without your jacket."

"I'm sorry," the boy quickly apologized. "I didn't mean to… I know that you're trying to find your place here. And it's been really difficult for you. I don't know this for myself obviously, but… now that you're here it's impossible to go back to your old life, no matter how much you wish you could. Hook told my mom that. And my other mom feels the same way. If you'll be patient, she'll be able to forgive you in time and you both can go back to being sisters again just like your mother wanted for you. Don't agree to help the Evil Queen anymore. You don't have to."

Unfortunately, it was then that the real villainess appeared in the kitchen after she transported herself back to the farmhouse while she responded, "Henry… that isn't very nice of you to try to turn my own sister against me. I'm surprised at you."

When she sat down at the end of the table between her son and her sister, the teenager glared at her as he answered, "Why? It's not like you haven't made an effort to try to turn me against my mom. Or Zelena against her too. I came here because I was hoping you would talk to me. I need to know why you set Mr. Hyde free and why you sent him after Hook. Why did he steal his hook?"

"I did set Hyde free, but I don't know what you mean in regard to him going after the pirate," the Evil Queen replied coyly as she took a sip of tea she swiftly summoned into her hands, then she conjured up breakfast on the table in front of them. "Please… have some breakfast, Henry. You know that it's the most important meal of the day."

"No thank you," he crossly responded to her and sat back within his chair. "If you really care about me, then tell me what you and Hyde are up to. Why did he hurt Hook last night just to steal his hook?"

Regina's doppelganger began to eat the muffin on her plate once she finished buttering it and answered, "I told you… if that happened, then Hyde did so of his own accord. How is Hook feeling this morning?"

Henry suddenly slammed his fist on the table, then shouted angrily, "He almost killed him! Hyde… he stabbed Hook in his back with his hook, then left him to die. If Belle and my mom hadn't shown up in time… he'd be dead right now. Again. But he's not. Whatever you and that monster are planning, you won't get away with it. If you won't give me any straight answers, can I at least have his hook back?"

"I'm afraid I don't have it," she lied, as Zelena also began to eat until Robin began to cry from the room closest to them when she began to wake up, the witch from Oz stood, and left the kitchen to take care of her. "And I don't know where Hyde is at the moment. But I did set him free because I was hoping he could give me some information. Information he possesses about what could be going on with Emma. You know… the tremors she's been suffering from."

"Like you really want to help my mom after what you did to her yesterday," the boy sternly replied, then he stood up so he could leave. "I should have known this would be a waste of time. Whatever you and Hyde do have planned… you'll fail. Because we will stop you both."

At last, Henry left the farmhouse, then began to walk back towards town so he could meet his girlfriend and friends for breakfast like he told his mother he would. By the time he finally arrived at Granny's Diner, Violet, Hansel, and Gretel, as well as their fathers were all already there, waiting for him before they ordered.

He sat down in the booth next to the girl from Camelot as they sat across from their friends, while Michael Tillman and Sir Morgan sat at a separate table beside them, then Violet looked over at the Author while she asked quietly, "So… were you able to talk with the Evil Queen? Did she tell you what you wanted to know?"

"No," Henry responded in frustration. "No… she denied everything except for setting Hyde free, but I know she's involved in what happened to Killian last night. I just wish there was something more I could do. Killian's worried about what the Evil Queen and Hyde want his hook for. He doesn't think he was attacked because they intended for him to be killed. After everything he and my mom have been through… with Camelot, being the Dark Ones, and the Underworld, I wanted to help ease their minds a little."

"If you really want to ease their minds, then you need to eat," Granny then answered when she came up to the tables to take her friends' orders. "What can I get for you all this morning? Other than just a round of hot cocoas with cinnamon?"

Violet was the first one to speak up again saying, "Henry told me about the holiday this world celebrates on this day. And that you like to make special meals for certain holidays. Do you have a Halloween special?"

Henry and the other two kids smiled, as did Granny as she replied, "It just so happens, I make the best pumpkin pancakes in all the realms. Six Halloween specials coming right up."

"Thank you, Granny," Gretel called out to her when the old woman walked away.

"Don't worry about your mom and Hook too much, Henry," Gretel then said. "They're going to be fine. They always are."


	8. Chapter 8

Ghosts of a Chance

Chapter Eight

While Henry started eating breakfast with Violet, Hansel and Gretel, and their fathers after Granny brought out plates of her pumpkin pancakes and mugs of hot cocoa with cinnamon for everyone, Belle entered the diner for breakfast as well. She looked around and saw a few empty tables, but when she saw Archie and Marco sitting at the bar doing the same, she walked over to join them as both men kindly greeted her, while Archie helped her to sit down on the stool beside him. Granny came up to them and immediately took the beauty's order, then returned to her kitchen again to begin preparing her food.

"How are you doing this morning, Belle?" the psychiatrist kindly asked her once they were alone again, but then he and Marco both saw a hint of sadness in her eyes before she turned away from them to stare down at the glass of orange juice Granny had put down in front of her before she walked away. "Are you alright? I feel like it's been awhile since we've seen you."

"It has been awhile," she answered him, then finally raised her head again to look between him and the town's handyman. "And I am sorry about that. It's just… well, things have been complicated between me and Rumple of course, but it isn't just that. At least not right now it isn't."

Geppetto finished taking a sip of his coffee and then he questioned, "Has something else happened? Are you and your baby okay?"

The beauty smiled at him and she quickly replied, "Yes… me and the baby are doing just fine. But I'm afraid something has happened that I'm worried about. Last night, the Evil Queen released Hyde from his prison and it wasn't long after that Hyde attacked Killian on the docks near the old boathouse. He was hurt pretty badly. Hyde stabbed him in the back with his own hook and then he just walked away like he'd done nothing so evil and took Killian's hook with him. Thankfully, Emma was able to get to Killian in time to save him, but… had I not been there right away so I could call her… They're worried that Hyde and the Evil Queen are up to something and apparently Hyde said something to Killian that has made him believe whatever their plan is much worse than it appears."

"That's terrible," Archie responded again sharing his own concern. "Poor Killian, but I'm so glad he's alright. I'll head over to their house later to check up on him. I heard from Henry already that he and Emma are finally moving in together. It's wonderful."

"Yes it is," Marco stated in agreement. "And whatever is happening with the Evil Queen and this Mr. Hyde… Emma and the others will stop them. Of this I am certain."

The doctor nodded and then he looked over at Belle again while he asked, "So, things between you and Mr. Gold… they are still strained?"

Belle scoffed, then she answered, "That's putting it mildly. Things between us have never been worse and I was his maid and prisoner for a number of years before we fell in love. Rumple has become more than just cold and illusive. He's become cruel and vindictive. He's threatened me and threatened to take my baby from me. Just like Hades did while we were in the Underworld. I don't know what I'm going to do. As grateful as I am to Killian for allowing me to stay aboard the Jolly Roger, I can't stay there forever. I've only been inconveniencing Killian despite his kindness not to admit it, and I don't want to keep hiding from my own husband. It's not right. I'm just not sure what to do."

"Well… if you need to talk, you know my door is always open," Archie replied sincerely as he reached out to lay his hand down on hers, until Granny reappeared before them again with the beauty's food and set the plates of french toast and a bowl of mixed fruit in front of her.

"Thank you, Granny," the beauty said to her friend when she did so, then turned back to Archie again and to Marco as well. "And thank you too, Archie. I really appreciate your kindness. From you and Marco. Thank you both. And you're right that everything's going to be okay."

Belle, Archie, and Marco continued talking, as Regina arrived and walked inside, then let out a sigh of relief when she saw Henry sitting in one of the booths along with his girlfriend and friends from school just like he told her he would be in his note he left her that morning, along with Violet's and the other children's fathers.

She then walked over to stand next to her son while she scolded him saying, "Henry… I thought that I made it very clear I don't want you just running off without me knowing exactly where you are or are going to be at all times. It's not meant to be a punishment. I'm just worried about you. With the Evil Queen and Hyde now running around with her…"

He finally cut her off as he interrupted, "Mom… it's okay. I'm okay. I'm sorry that I didn't wake you up to ask you just to make sure it was okay, but I didn't want to wake you. And besides, she won't hurt me. The Evil Queen… I mean. She may be evil, but she does still believe me to be as much her son as you do."

"I'm not sure if that's supposed to comfort me at all or not," Regina responded in frustration, then finally sat down at the table next to Michael and curiously looked around the tables to see what everyone was eating. "Pumpkin pancakes, huh? That sounds wonderful."

"Can I get you my Halloween special too then?" Granny asked her once she walked over upon hearing the Mayor mention how good her pumpkin pancakes looked.

Regina smiled at her and then answered, "Yes… please, Granny. And I'd like a couple strips of bacon and sourdough toast to go with that if you could. As well as some orange juice too. You know I'm not a fan of hot cocoa with cinnamon unfortunately. Unless it comes with a little whisky, scotch, or brandy. But… never mind. Orange juice will be perfectly fine. Thank you."

The old woman smiled at her politeness as she replied, "Of course. You're welcome."

"So, Mom… do you mind if I go hang out with my friends all day?" Henry then asked his adopted mother as he looked over at her once Granny walked away again, being careful not to let slip any indication that he had gone to talk to her dark side before coming to Granny's. "I am sorry about not asking aside from just leaving you a note."

"Of course it is, Henry," she responded as she turned to look at him as well and then smiled at him. "I'm sorry. I just can't help but be an overprotective mother. But today's Halloween and I want you to go out and have fun with your friends. Just promise me that you'll be careful."

Her son smiled and nodded, then he answered, "You know I will. Besides… we're still just going to be at Hansel's and Gretel's house like we planned to last night."

Hansel eagerly replied, "We're going to spend a lot of the morning and afternoon baking treats for tonight. Not just for ourselves, but for the trick or treaters too. You know… popcorn balls, caramel apples, cookies, gingerbread, cupcakes…"

"Just like there were at the Blind Witch's house, only none that are cursed or made to trap children like we were inside a cage waiting to be eaten," Gretel continued for him playfully and then they both laughed, as did their father knowing that they were only doing so to help lighten the trauma of their close call with the Blind Witch who had almost killed them years ago so they could cope with their memories of it.

"It all sounds delicious," Regina responded when she spoke again. "I do hope that you'll head over to my office so you can take as many apples from my tree out there as you'd like for the caramel apples, or anything else you might need them for."

Michael smiled at the former Evil Queen, then he sincerely answered, "That's very kind of you, Your Majesty."

She laughed as she looked over at him and replied, "Please… It's really okay just to call me Regina here. We're all friends."

"Regina… then," he responded, then looked down at his plate and continued eating after taking a quick sip of his hot chocolate.

"These pumpkin pancakes are absolutely delicious," Violet then stated while she too continued to eat. "It's no wonder that Nicodemus loves pumpkin so much. It's fantastic."

Henry was about to talk again, until all of a sudden, Regina stood up upon receiving an urgent text on her phone and when he saw the concern in her eyes, he quickly asked, "Mom? Is everything okay? What's wrong?"

The Mayor lifted her head and looked down at him worryingly, then answered, "It's nothing. I mean… it's not nothing, but everything's going to be okay. I'm sure of it. Just stay here with your friends and have fun tonight. Stay safe. If anything happens that you need to be concerned about, I promise you I will let you know."

"Okay," her son replied worryingly, but knew that it would be best to listen to his mother this time and trusted her to keep her word too, then watched her as she turned to the bar where Granny was standing behind with her back to her.

"Hey, Granny… I'm afraid I'm going to have to pass…" Regina started saying to the old woman until Granny turned around to face her with a bag for her in her hands.

Granny handed the bag of food to her and responded sternly, "I heard that you had to go and quickly bagged your food for you. It's all set. I won't let you leave my diner hungry and I don't agree with letting the people who walk into my diner skip any meals. Especially breakfast."

Regina smiled at her again and then answered, "Thank you again, Granny. You're the best."

"You're darn right about that," she replied firmly in agreement, then turned away from her to refill Belle's glass of orange juice and got to work in helping some of the other patrons within the room.

"I'll be in touch a little later, Henry," the Mayor then said once she turned around again to face her son. "Just to make sure that you're doing okay. Be sure to keep your phone on you."

The teenager nodded as she walked over to stand above him, then leaned down to kiss him on his forehead while he responded, "I will. Good luck, Mom."

Once his adopted mother left, Violet looked over at her boyfriend again and she spoke in sincerity saying, "I hope everything's okay. Your mom looked concerned about whatever was said in that message she received."

"Me too," Henry whispered worrying, then pulled out his phone hoping that he might have received a text from his other mother only to find that he hadn't. "Normally, I would run off to try to find out for myself what she might be hiding. Like I did this morning to get some answers from the Evil Queen. But this time, I'm going to trust her and do like she asks. I don't want to risk getting into trouble. Come on… let's get out of here so we can get baking. I'm not too fond of anything with apples, but I've been craving my Grandma's recipe for her oatmeal raisin cookies. They're delicious."

"They certainly sound delicious," Sir Morgan stated upon breaking from his silence once he finished eating, then stood up alongside everyone else when they did too to join them in their day's activities.


	9. Chapter 9

Ghosts of a Chance

Chapter Nine

Meanwhile, inside Emma's and Killian's home…

Emma awoke later than most of the others had, after she and Killian had gone to bed later on account of last night's events. It took her a little time to regain her bearings, but it wasn't long before she sensed something was off and upon realizing she no longer felt Killian's body against hers, or his arms wrapped around her, her instincts told her something was terribly wrong. The Savior quickly turned around and found that the man she loved had turned to face away from her sometime within the night. However, when she leaned over him until she carefully pulled him onto his back, she let out a small cry in fear upon seeing an ugly bruise across his left cheek, then immediately struggled to wake him only to find she couldn't.

The Savior laid one hand over his right cheek and the other down over his chest as she fearfully whispered, "Killian? Please… please wake up. God… I knew I should have gone after Hyde last night. This never would have happened if…"

Before she could continue blaming herself for whatever was happening to him, Emma suddenly heard her mother call out to her from downstairs and she quickly kissed Killian's forehead, stood up from the bed so she could pull on her robe, then rushed downstairs to ask her parents for help.

When David and Snow saw the distress in their daughter's eyes and on her face upon seeing she had been crying, the older Princess quickly ran to her once she made it down to the bottom steps of the house's stairs while she asked worryingly, "Emma… what is it? What's wrong?"

"It's Killian," she urgently replied as she stepped down the last of the stairs once her mother pulled her into her arms, until Emma pulled away from her again in frustration. "There's no time for that. Something's wrong. I can't wake him up. I've tried and what's worse… he has a fresh bruise over his left cheekbone that wasn't there last night after Hyde's assault. I would have healed it if it was. There wasn't even a hint of one."

"It's gonna be okay, Emma," David responded to her in concern as well, although she just ignored him as she quickly turned and ran back upstairs, while he and Snow then followed her so they could get to their daughter's boyfriend. "Was there anything that happened during the night which might have alerted you to there being something wrong? Anything strange…?"

Emma walked around to Killian's side of the bed and knelt down on the floor beside him while she laid her hands over him again to try to heal whatever might be wrong with him other than just the bruise over his cheek like she had the night before, but to no avail, then glared up at her father as she answered crossly, "Don't you think I would have called you that much sooner if something had? That I would have stopped whatever or whoever might have attacked him if I did notice something off with him?"

The Savior then shook her head and breathed in and out as she looked down at Killian's ashen face, then she spoke again apologetically saying, "I'm sorry. I know you're only trying to help. I'm just… I'm scared. I should have gone out to find Hyde and the Evil Queen last night after that monster attacked. Whatever's happening to him, they must have used his hook in order to do it. But what? How can I help him?"

"We're going to help him, Emma," Snow replied assuredly when she walked around the bed to try to comfort her daughter as she laid her hands down on her shoulders, then David sat down on the empty side of the bed and laid his fingers to Killian's neck to feel for his friend's pulse to find out if they needed to get him to Dr. Whale urgently, or if they had time to keep him with them so they could try to help him themselves. "You won't have to do it alone. We can call Regina."

"His pulse is steady, but… his skin feels warm," David responded in concern when he looked again between the two women in front of him. "He's beginning to burn up, and it might not be long before we have to get him to the hospital. Especially if something worse than this bruise appears somewhere along his body."

Emma gently began to caress the side of Killian's face that wasn't hurt as she answered quietly, "First… let's call Regina. Maybe she can help him. If the Evil Queen did do this to him… whatever this is, then Regina might be able to heal him. And wake him even."

Snow pulled out her cell phone and sent off a message to Regina asking her to come over to Emma's again while she replied to her daughter, "I'm sending her a message now. I'm sure that she'll be here as soon as she can. I'm just glad we came over so early. Your father wanted to make you breakfast this morning."

"I should have sensed something was wrong with him sooner," the Savior whispered sadly as she continued to look down at the man she loved while caressing his face. "I felt that he was in trouble as soon as I woke up. That he was in pain and afraid, but I… I don't understand why I couldn't have felt it sooner. While I was asleep. Maybe… if we shared a heart like you and Dad do, then I might have. Mom and Dad… you always, always know when each other are hurt or are in trouble."

"We only share a heart because giving your father half of mine was the only way I had to bring him back," her mother responded to her when she laid her hand down on Emma's back after she sat down on the floor beside her. "Doing so wasn't an option for you to save Killian because…"

Emma glanced over at her, as well as at her father when she interrupted, "Because Hades said he had been dead too long. But after he betrayed us like Killian always knew he would, I've always suspected he had been lying about that. I firmly believe Hades did something to prevent me from being able to save him when I could have. Some kind of spell he cast over Killian maybe? I'm not sure. I'm grateful Zeus saw that he owed it to us to bring him back to me, but a part of me wishes my heart would have been able to save him. It belongs to him."

She turned back to Killian again and added, "Perhaps I could have stopped whatever's happening to him now if we did share one heart."

"Maybe so," David answered quietly. "But then maybe you wouldn't have been able to either. All of these maybes are painful conjectures to drive yourself crazy over, Emma. Don't do that to yourself. Let's just focus on the here and now."

"I'm sorry for interrupting," Regina then stated, when at last she appeared in the doorway, then walked into the room upon seeing Hook lying unconscious on the bed and looked down at him in concern. "What's happened to him now?"

Snow stood as she looked across the bed at her and replied, "We're not really sure, but we have a pretty good feeling the Evil Queen's behind it. That it's why she had Hyde steal Killian's hook from him in his attack. They've done this… for some reason."

When Regina stepped closer to the bed and leaned down as she began to use her power to try to sense what might be wrong with the Captain, Emma looked between them while she questioned, "Can you sense what's happening to him? Can you help him?"

"I'm afraid… there's a reason why I can't," the Mayor responded calmly while she continued to work and to try to heal him, unfortunately finding she couldn't do that either. "It's like my magic is being blocked, only… I can barely sense thoughts that aren't his own inside of Hook's mind. I'm not really sure, but I think his body's become possessed by strange, dark entities. More than just one."

"What?" Emma uttered fearfully upon staring into Regina's eyes in shock once Regina looked up at her again when she finished doing all she could for her friend. "No… We have to do something. There has to be something we can do."

Charming reached across the bed to lay his hand down on Emma's hand that was still laying over Killian's chest and answered, "There is. We can confront the Evil Queen and find out exactly what she's done to him."

Regina turned to him as she retorted sternly, "And you really think that she's just going to admit everything to you because you ask her nicely?"

"It's the best option we have right now," he replied in frustration. "Unless there's something else you have in mind?"

"Unfortunately, I don't," she then responded in frustration and turned her attention back to Emma and Hook. "We'll get to the bottom of this, Emma. I'm sure of it. We just have to be smart about how we do it."

The Savior quickly raised her hands up to her eyes to wipe away the tears threatening to fall and she laid her hands back down over the man she loved while she took his hand into her own, until the one she laid again over his chest began to shake when her tremors returned, then she struggled to get it back under control as she answered fearfully, "Maybe. But how long does Killian really have before something worse happens to him than just a bruise over his cheekbone? What if… what if he's wounded again as badly as he was last night and this time we can't heal him?"

Regina looked down worryingly and then replied, "Something tells me that these things inside of him want something other than just to hurt him. That they're going to draw out his pain for as long as they can until the Evil Queen gets whatever it is she's after."

"What if we were to find Hyde and then figure out a way we can get him to talk?" Snow suggested when she finally spoke again. "I'm not sure how. I mean… he's impervious to pain and he can absorb whatever magic is thrown at him..."

"But he's not invincible," the Princess' stepmother responded, then tried to come up with an idea on how they might be able to pull Snow's idea off. "He may be able to absorb our magic when we've tried to use it to hurt him, but he might be susceptible to a sleeping spell. It could work."

Emma shook her head, then she answered, "And even if it does, it doesn't mean he'll tell us what we need to know to save Killian. Trying to capture Hyde is only going to be a waste of time. Time Killian doesn't have."

David looked at his daughter again sadly while he replied, "I'm not so sure we have a choice."

The Savior was about to say something more as she looked down upon the man she loved again, until all of a sudden she froze when she noticed blood soaking into the sheets beneath him and Emma immediately yanked off the blanket covering the lower half of Killian's body, then she carefully lifted his blood soaked shirt to reveal multiple deep and bloody lacerations across his chest and his stomach which looked more like strange claw marks than the lashes created by a whip like the many old scars she knew covered his back from being whipped a number of times when he was still young and a slave so long ago.

"What the hell are those?" Regina rhetorically questioned, since she knew no one could answer her on account of them all being just as in the dark as she was.

"I can't just wait around here and do nothing while this is happening to him," Emma responded angrily and stood up once she gave up trying to heal him again when she failed to be able to do so, then started towards the bedroom door to leave.

David swiftly reached out to grab her and pulled her back as he turned her around to face him again, then pleaded, "Emma, don't. You won't be able to help him if you try to confront the Evil Queen or Hyde when you're this angry. Hook needs you right here. With him. Let us go out and do what we can to help him."

Snow agreed with her husband and whispered, "Your father's right, Emma. I'll stay with you. Please, let them worry about the rest. Trust them."

"Fine," the Savior finally answered in understanding and agreement. "Just… just please find something we can use to help him."

"We will," her father said to her assuredly, then he tenderly kissed her on the top of her head before he and Regina finally left the room again to see what they could do elsewhere to try to help their friend.


	10. Chapter 10

Ghosts of a Chance

Chapter Ten

Once again inside Killian's mind…

When Killian finally awoke again as he weakly struggled to come to, it wasn't long afterwards that he found his wrists and ankles were bound, his arms were tightly stretched out high above his head by the ropes from the riggings, and his body was bound tightly against the main mast aboard his ship while he remained standing upright. His head was pounding and his face hurt where Pan had struck him over his left cheekbone with his own flask however long ago it was that he had done so. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to regain his composure before the demon child appeared in front of him once again, along with the others who were also forced into the River of Lost Souls like he nearly had been as well.

"Welcome back, Killian," Pan said to him callously, then raised the pirate's flask up in front of his face like before. "Would you care for another drink? I haven't forgotten how much you like your rum. And I know you're still nothing more than a one handed pirate with a drinking problem. Aren't you? I doubt even Emma was able to cure you of that."

"He certainly loved the drink when we were together," Milah's ghost responded with a cruel grin on her face as she walked around from behind their captive so she was facing him.

Despite the pain in his head making it difficult for him to really focus on them as well as he would have liked, Killian raised his head to try while he spoke quietly saying, "You may have me… at a disadvantage. You're holding me captive aboard a false memory of my own… my own ship, within my mind, and I'm clearly tied up for the time be… being, surrounded by four ghosts forced into doing the Evil Queen's bidding on account of you no longer having minds of your own thanks to a dead God and a green river. What is she after? How does she plan to hurt Emma?"

James scoffed as he began to pace slowly in front of him and then he replied, "You really do love this self proclaimed Savior. Don't you? It's sad. That the once dreaded pirate, Captain Hook could fall so low. But do you really care so little for yourself… that you would sacrifice everything just to protect her?"

"I've spent the last few years of my life doing just that," Killian answered him while he lowered his head to his chest as his headache slowly worsened. "And I will continue to do so until… until I breathe my last breath once again. You know nothing… of love. So you couldn't possibly understand."

"This prince might not know anything of love… but I do," Milah whispered into Killian's ear as she came around from behind him once more, then reached up to caress the left side of his face until he pulled away from her and raised his head to look sadly into her eyes. "I did love you once, Killian. I was foolish… to give up my son for the likes of you. But you seduced me with your charm, your stories about your grand adventures across the high seas and in the many realms you've travelled…"

She leaned in again so she could kiss him, until he once again pulled away from her and responded, "You may be wearing her face, but you're not her anymore. I am so sorry that I couldn't save you too, Milah. That Emma couldn't…"

Milah then took a few steps back as her eyes grew dark and cold when she angrily retorted, "Don't you speak that other woman's name to me. She's ruined you! And it's because of her that I'm here now. A lost soul. Not just Hades… nor Rumple either. I should have refused to try to save you when she and my husband came to me for help for your Savior. But in my own moment of weakness I saw her love for you and I remembered my own. I couldn't say no. You'll pay for giving up your vengeance against your crocodile. All for the pretty face you replaced me with. You'll suffer."

"It's about time," Gaston smugly replied and then laughed.

Milah reached out to lay her hand over his chest again, and Killian's fear suddenly intensified when the woman he once loved began to transform back into her true form of the true ghost she had now become, as did the other souls still before him as well. Ghosts like the ones he remembered fighting while down in the Underworld with King Arthur when they worked together to restore the pages to the storybook for Emma so she could defeat Hades. And before he could even begin to attempt to pull away from her despite being unable to move on account of being bound against his mast, Killian began to scream out in pain when her finger nails grew long, then she suddenly embedded them deep within his chest until she slashed his skin over and over down into his stomach as well, causing his blood to seep out from his body.

Killian was trapped within his mind and therefore nothing around him was real aside from the four tormented souls that he somehow knew were also trapped along with him, yet he was and so was his pain until finally Milah's attack on him ended when she finally flew back with a howling screech. His anguished cries stopped as well, but Killian continued to gasp painfully as he struggled to hold onto consciousness, while the lost souls continued to float above him.

 _He struggled to think of anything in order to try to pull his mind away from his pain, as the Captain's thoughts brought him back to his and Arthur's battle against those they fought in their quest for Killian's own holy grail and finally he saw himself sitting in a boat with the King while they rowed across the River of Lost Souls._

 _"_ _We're almost there," he heard himself saying to Arthur softly. "The book should be just up ahead."_

 _While the souls within the waters beneath them wailed in despair as they floated all around them, Arthur looked towards the pirate sitting in front of him with his back to him and questioned, "What are these things?"_

 _Killian also looked down at them as well, then he answered, "They're lost souls."_

 _"Careful!" he swiftly stated again upon looking back just in time to stop the King from reaching down into the green waters. "Touch the water, you become one of them."_

 _"There's the book," he continued again upon seeing what they had come for in a stone gargoyle's hands once they finally reached the doorway to the cave where Killian himself nearly had become one of them while the wailing grew louder. "That two tone witch was telling the truth. I'll go."_

 _Killian turned around to face Arthur as he handed him the ropes tied to the boat and then added, "You just make sure the boat's here when I return."_

 _When he turned again and began to climb the stairs to the upper level of rock ledges in front of them, water sloshed from behind Arthur who stood with his back to the river, until all of a sudden, one of the mindless souls rose from within it and swiftly attacked by grabbing the King's leg, forcing him to the ground as it attempted to pull him into the river while Arthur cried out, "Release me, demon!"_

 _"Arthur!" Killian called out to him worryingly upon seeing he was in trouble once he turned around at the sound of Arthur's cry, then started back towards him so he could try to help him._

 _"No!" Arthur shouted when he saw Killian's effort to help as he continued to struggle against the ghost fighting with him. "Go for the book! Go!"_

 _Killian looked towards the book, as he considered listening to the King, until he knew he couldn't abandon him to become fated as one of the souls hissing and screeching loudly all around them. So, the Captain swiftly ran back down the stairs and grabbed hold of one of the burning torches lighting the vast open cavern, then immediately began to swing the torch at the being to force it away from the King until Killian rammed its fire through it causing the mindless soul to disperse with a howling scream._

 _After Killian reached down with his hook to help Arthur stand while he breathed heavily in trying to get his breathing back under control, the King looked at the pirate in relief and then in gratitude, he said, "Thank you."_

 _Hook simply mumbled, "Uh-huh."_

 _"Now get the book," Arthur responded sternly, then watched as Hook climbed back up to do so, until another of the ghosts screeched out upon flying out again to grab the book from the gargoyle's hands before the creature attempted to return within the Green River. "Hook! The torch!"_

 _"Aah!" the King screamed angrily after Killian immediately threw the torch down to him as Arthur grasped it and swung it through the ghost causing it to screech out in pain until it erupted like the first did as well._

 _Unfortunately, as it did so, the storybook fell from its hands and was about to wind up within the River of Lost Souls as well, until Killian immediately ran down from the top of the stairs again and charged forward to catch the book in his only hand, succeeding in doing so just in time to save it._

 _While he struggled to get up from the ground, Arthur looked down at him as he spoke crossly saying, "You didn't tell me those things could attack us."_

 _Hook grunted when he sat up and finally rose back to his feet again, then he replied, "I didn't know they could. Perhaps things are changing down here now that Hades is gone."_

 _"You sure this book can still work?" the King asked again while they both looked down at the book again in Hook's hand._

 _"I'm not certain of anything down here, but this book is special," Killian answered him and placed it into Arthur's hands so he could hold it for him while he worked to replace the missing pages his brother had ripped out of it days ago. "These pages have crossed realms when people needed hope the most."_

 _As he did so, Arthur questioned, "Out of professional curiosity, how does one kill the God of Death?"_

 _Killian kept his eyes on the pages once he found where the ripped out ones came from as he responded, "With something called an Olympian crystal. Once activated, the raw power inside can obliterate anything, even a God."_

 _"You really think Emma can find this crystal and use it?" the King continued to ask while he watched Hook lay the pages inside and then carefully close the book believing they would appear within Henry's storybook in the world above. "You have a healthy dose of faith."_

 _"It's more like hope," Killian whispered once he finished. "All right, Swan. Now it's your turn."_

When his first memory ended, another swiftly took its place as Killian remembered back to walking out weakly from the tunnel with Emma's help while she held him firmly within his arms upon rescuing him from his prison, then heard Gold shout Hades' name in anger after he forced Milah back into the Green River. Only back then, Killian nor Emma knew it was Gold who had on account of the Dark One lying to them to hide the truth.

 _Before turning around to face Emma and Hook while faking he had been hurt in an attack against the God as they appeared behind him, Gold screamed, "Hades! I tried to stop him. He blew my magic right back at me. Milah… I couldn't stop it. She's gone."_

 _The Savior sadly whispered, "Milah."_

 _"Milah was here?" Killian asked in disbelief and fear while he stared at the woman he loved now in disbelief. "Milah?"_

 _"She helped us get to you," Emma replied in remorse as she reached out to take Killian into her arms again to offer him comfort upon seeing him look down in despair._

 _The pirate captain stared ahead of him while he answered sadly, "Hades has much to answer for."_

 _Gold looked ahead as well as he uttered darkly, "Indeed he does."_

"Try to think of happy thoughts all you want, Killian," Pan's dark soul said to their captive cruelly, his voice echoing within his ghost like form as the demon floated beside him. "If you can. It won't help you for long."

"Nothing can help you," James smugly added. "Not even Emma. We've only just begun."


	11. Chapter 11

Ghosts of a Chance

Chapter Eleven

After they left Emma and Snow behind to watch over Killian, Regina used her magic to teleport herself and David to Zelena's farmhouse so they could confront the Evil Queen about what she and Hyde did to their friend like Henry had tried to do earlier that morning. Neither of them expected Regina's doppelganger to cooperate with them, or to reveal anything about her plan. But confronting her was all they could do for now. And David promised his daughter they would try anyways. Killian's life depended on them helping him as soon as they could.

When they appeared upon the porch, David reached out to knock on the door expecting Zelena to answer. However, after he knocked twice more, it was pretty clear that the Wicked Witch wasn't home and since the Evil Queen didn't answer the door, they assumed she wasn't there either. So, Regina opened it to let herself and David inside.

While David followed her in once she walked into the kitchen, he spoke up sternly saying, "You do realize that right now, we're breaking and entering?"

Regina just smiled without turning around to face him as she answered, "If you're uncomfortable with doing so, then feel free to wait out on the porch. We didn't come here to invade my sister's privacy. We're here to help the pirate. Remember? Look around. My evil self might have left something out… for some reason…"

"It's Hook's hook," the Prince stated in concern once he swiftly noticed why Regina cut herself off and began to stare down at the middle of the kitchen table upon seeing it herself. "No way would she just leave it out like this if she has a plan for it."

"G-ah!" David painfully cried out when he reached down to try to pick up the piece of metal, only for his hand to begin to burn upon him doing so as though the hook was a hot iron until he immediately dropped it back onto the table again. "What the hell? His hook's on fire."

Regina took his arm and lifted his hand up so she could get a closer look at the burn left behind before she healed it, then she responded, "She must have put a spell on it so no one can try to take it from her."

It was then that the Evil Queen stepped out into the kitchen again from one of the house's other rooms while she replied, "I did do something like that. You didn't really think I would make it so easy for you heroes to try to take it back, did you?"

"Not really," the Mayor replied snidely when she and David both turned to face the villainess when she walked around the table to stand in front of them. "Just what the hell have you done to Hook? And why? I know that you and I have never much cared for him… although I do actually consider him one of my friends now, but… that's neither here nor there. What matters is what's happening to him. Did you curse him? What are you after?"

"The pirate isn't cursed," the doppelganger answered smugly. "At least not in the sense that a villain like me would normally curse a person as we've done many times in the past. But there is something terrible happening to him. And I am behind it too. As you know, I had a little help from Mr. Hyde."

Regina scoffed as she shook her head in frustration while David curtly retorted, "Cut the crap and tell us what you've done!"

The Evil Queen smiled cruelly, then she clasped her hands together and responded, "I suppose there's no harm in sharing what I've done. Surely you tried to help the Savior heal him and to sense what might be wrong with him. Tell me… did you sense something off? Perhaps thoughts that weren't his own, but from other entities?"

"Who… or what are they?" the Mayor asked her other self again coldly.

"Remember when Hook told us about the ghosts he and Arthur fought against after we all left him down in the Underworld?" the villainess asked again. "You know… from the River of Lost Souls? The ghosts that flew out and attacked them once Hades left his domain for good that is."

Regina glared at her as she replied, "That's why you had Hyde attack him last night. So you could get your hands on some of his blood in order to open the portal again to the Underworld. To summon a few tormented souls from that river. Why? Why are they possessing Hook? And how are they doing it? You don't have nearly the amount of power it would require to tether more than one soul…"

When she paused once she began to realize part of her other self's plan, David looked between the two Queens as he questioned his friend, "What, Regina? What is it? When Hook was the Dark One… he tethered all of the other Dark Ones to Excalibur before he died. Is Gold in on this with them too?"

"No," The Mayor answered darkly when she looked at the Evil Queen again. "At least I don't think so. No… Queenie here created a tethering spell and cast it over Hook's hook. That's why these ghosts are haunting him. Possessing him. That's why she needed both his hook and some of his blood to summon them. And today's Halloween. When all real magic is far more powerful than it is on every other day. Making her magic powerful enough to tether more than one being to an object. The question that still remains… Why?"

"That's not for you heroes to know just yet, Regina," the Evil Queen haughtily responded and then reached down to pick up the hook herself, unaffected by the spell she had cast over it to keep others from touching it. "But you will soon enough. All you need to know… is that you can't stop it. You can't help Hook by healing him, and none of you including you, Regina… can reverse the effects of what I've done. Only I can save him now. And I won't unless I get what I want."

The sheriff started towards her in anger until Regina grabbed him to hold him back, then he asked curtly, "So tell us so we can save Hook anymore pain."

The villainess laughed, then she replied, "I'm afraid not. He hasn't suffered enough just yet. If I'm going to get what I want, the Savior's going to have to be desperate to save him. I underestimated her yesterday. It won't happen again."

"He's bleeding out from claw marks, all across his chest and his stomach!" David shouted again. "He's possessed by angry ghosts that were trapped down in the Underworld and could possibly have a grudge against him. Emma's terrified! What more do you want?"

"It's like I said," the Evil Queen said with a grin. "You'll find out. Until then… I would tell Emma to try to take care of him the best she can. It's going to be awhile and he's in for world of pain."


	12. Chapter 12

Ghosts of a Chance

Chapter Twelve

 _Once Milah stopped unleashing her wrath against Killian when she calmed herself down at last, Killian allowed his head to fall heavily against his chest while he struggled to breathe through his pain and soon his mind drifted back to the moment he first met the woman he loved before Emma. The only woman he thought a villainous pirate like him could ever love until meeting Emma set his life on a different path. Milah had stayed behind to finish her ale upon feeling a bit guilty after her husband, before Rumple had become the Dark One, got up to leave the tavern so he could do as was required to save their son, when a man had suddenly bumped into her, causing Milah to spill her drink over her._

 _"Oh… did I make you do that?" the drunkard smugly questioned when he turned to focus his attention on her, then attempted to have his way with her when he swiftly grabbed a cloth and tried to wipe around her chest. "Oh, that's a nice dress and a pretty girl."_

 _"Stop it," Milah demanded as she attempted to push the man away from her. "I don't need that."_

 _The man only continued as he ignored her while he retorted, "No, I got it. I got it."_

 _She cried out angrily, "I'm fine."_

 _"Leave the lady alone," a handsome stranger whom Milah would soon come to know as Killian Jones, the dreaded pirate who had yet to become the fearsome Captain Hook, spoke sternly when he suddenly appeared as he walked up behind the damsel in distress and pushed the drunkard back to aid her._

 _"Or what?" the ruffian replied snidely as he shoved the pirate back in an attempt to intimidate him into leaving him and the woman alone._

 _However, Killian wasn't fazed by the man in the slightest and answered, "Well…"_

 _Before the drunkard could see it coming, the Captain swiftly punched him across his face and with one strike was able to knock him unconscious, then he took another drink from a tray being held out him by one of the tavern's wenches, and Killian finally sat down on the bench across from Milah while he faced her before he set the goblet in front of her for her to drink._

 _Men all around them were laughing at the drunkard's misfortune since most of the men within the cavern were a part of the pirate captain's crew, but Milah looked at him in surprise and awe until she whispered kindly, "Thank you, Sir."_

 _"Captain Killian Jones," he softly responded and then chivalrously took her hand into one of his own to kiss it. "At your service, ma'am."_

 _"That doesn't look to be the uniform of any Navy I've…" she began again as she looked him over to study him as though to read whether or not he was a threat to her like the other man had been upon still feeling a little bit shaken, until he looked away from her as he chortled at her belief he could actually be a member of the Royal Navy like he once was until he had turned to piracy after the death of his brother._

 _When she understood why he laughed, Milah then continued, "Oh. You're…"_

 _Before the woman finished, Killian spoke again smugly saying, "Well, they call us pirates. We sail where we will and answer to no crown."_

 _"I've not seen the ocean much beyond our small port," she replied, appearing to have become smitten by his good looks and his charm while she continued to look at the man before her when he smiled at her. "Is it wonderful to travel so much?"_

 _"Aye," the Captain answered her again, continuing to regale her with the wonders he'd seen on his adventures along the high seas in hope of wooing her, after having become smitten by her beauty and her longing to see as he did as well. "Do you know… there are cities where the air smells of spices… and women are carried on jeweled chairs? Would you like to see that?"_

 _Milah stuttered nervously as she responded, "W… Well… I would love that, but… I have responsibilities here. An ailing child. Husband."_

 _Killian understood her hesitation then as he replied, "Ah… a husband. Well… it would appear a better man than I has won. But I am in port quite often… should that ever change."_

 _"It… it won't," she stuttered again. "But thank you."_

 _Hook simply nodded, before he stood up again and walked over to the bar for another drink before he rejoined the men from his crew. Milah had watched him do so, before she turned back to her own drink he had set in front of her moments earlier and took a sip, not noticing that Killian was still watching her as well._

"How sweet," Milah cruelly spoke at last, again within the form of the woman he loved in order to pull Killian back from his mind so his attention was on her and the others there to torment him once she read his thoughts he had drifted into to try to focus on anything other than his pain. "You trying to preserve the love you once felt for me…"

However, her kindness was short lived as she continued angrily, "…so you can try to ease your own conscience! But you can't. You did this to me, as much as Rumplestiltskin and Hades did. You're every bit to blame!"

Killian nodded weakly and while he struggled against his anguish, he whispered, "I know. I was we… weak then. I don't regret… regret loving you, Milah. But I do regret that my love for you came… at a cost which your son and the good man your husband used to be before I destroyed him… both paid. All because I was selfish. You don't know how sor… sorry I am…"

"Oh… but I do, Killian," the ghost of his first love retorted darkly. "And I know that you weren't the only one to blame for what happened to me the day my husband ripped out my heart and crushed it. I was too, but we're here for you. To make you suffer for as long as we can before you finally join us in the same state of being like you should have while you were trapped within the Underworld."

"I know your true forms…" the Captain answered sadly as he struggled to lift his head so he could look into her eyes, while Pan, James, and Gaston all transformed themselves back into their human forms as well. "What you've become the mom… moment the waters from the River of Lost Souls… consumed you. The mindless souls you are. So how… How is it you're able to transform into as I'm seeing you now? Into what you were before you became lost?"

It was then that Pan finally spoke as he responded, "Have you forgotten where we really are already? We're in your head, Hook. Inside your mind. What we are in this moment is thanks to your memories of who we were. And it's how we're able to communicate. Thanks to you, we can appear in either form, since you've seen what we truly are when you and that new King of the Underworld fought against James in trying to save the storybook from falling into the Green River."

Killian struggled to look over at the Prince with his closest friend's face while he asked in surprise, "One of those demons… The ghosts we fought against… One of them was you?"

"I was the one you forced back into the river first in saving King Arthur," James crossly replied. "You didn't destroy me. You only caused me even more agony than what I was already suffering from while trapped within those waters. We can't be destroyed."

"I don't… understand," the ghosts' prisoner said in confusion as he struggled to make sense of what they were saying. "My memories…"

Gaston swiftly cut him off to correct him as he interrupted, "Well… in my case, it isn't your memories allowing you to see me as I am, but your knowledge of who I once was. We never actually met in life. But you did know of me. From Belle no doubt. Otherwise, I couldn't appear to you like the others."

Pan took Milah's place in front of Hook while he added, "You see, Killian… outside of your mind, or while down in the Underworld, we were nothing but the mindless torment husks that we were forced to become. But here… inside your mind, we can be ourselves again. At least in the way you see us as. If we were to leave your body, Emma and everyone else would only see us as the ghosts we are. So the truth is… the Evil Queen has truly done us all a favor. And on top of that, we get to torment you for however long your body can hold out against the anguish you've only begun to feel."

"And now, we can finally have another chance at getting our revenge against the rest of those who have wronged us," James smugly continued when he suddenly wrapped his hand around Killian's throat and began to squeeze in order to make it difficult for him to breathe just like Hyde had once done.

However, Milah finally pulled the spoiled Prince's hand away and Killian gasped as he struggled to get his breathing back under control again, then once he was able to, he fearfully questioned, "What… what do you mean?"

The woman who once loved him answered cruelly, "You didn't really believe that we're only confined to simply torturing you while we're inside of your mind… did you, Killian? The Queen has demanded that we make you suffer and we all know that your thirst for revenge against my husband… your crocodile… has been completely replaced by this sickening love for the Savior you love far more than you ever loved me, as well as for those whom you now call your friends. Your love for them has made you weak, but it makes us stronger."

"Which is why we're going to use you to destroy them too," Gaston stated further as well. "Seeing them fall by your own hand will destroy you that much more."

"In a much crueler kind of torment," Pan snidely responded and then laughed, as did Milah, James, and Gaston. "We all know you care more about Emma more than you care about yourself. That you care about her family and your friends than you care about yourself. And soon enough, you will finally see just how satisfying revenge really is."

When Milah moved in front of him again and looked deep into his eyes, Killian weakly shook his head in plea, pleading with her not to allow what they were all about to do to happen until she just smiled at him cruelly, then laid her hand against the right side of his face. Upon her doing so, he suddenly screamed in pain as he felt an agonizing surge throughout his mind and body when she began to take over him. And his anguish only worsened once James, Gaston, and finally Pan reached out to do the same when they also laid their hands somewhere along his body as well.

 _In one last small effort to remain in control over his body despite the amount of pain that doing so caused him, Killian pushed his mind to remember his love for Emma as he remembered back to one of the first times she showed the love she felt for him too during the Snow Queen's reign, and he saw Emma leaving Granny's Diner_ _while she kept on walking past him, it being clear Emma was still angry with him, but Hook made a gesture for her to join him as he called out to her saying, "Swan! Don't make a man drink alone."_

 _Still annoyed, Emma replied coldly, "Not in the mood for a drink or a man."_

 _"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you today," he answered as she walked out into the middle of the street while he swiftly chased after her, then finally used his hook to grab hold of the crook of her elbow to turn her around so that she was facing him. "All right, I know you feel like you've got the weight of the world on your shoulders. But at some point… even though we're quite different, you've got to trust me."_

 _"That's what you think this is about?" she asked as she stared at him in surprise. "That I don't trust you?"_

 _Hook looked back at her feeling slightly confused as he asked, "Is that not what it's about?"_

 _The blonde woman responded firmly, "Of course I trust you."_

 _"Then why do you keep pulling away from me?" he asked again in frustration upon raising his voice in anger._

 _"Because everyone I've ever been with is dead," Emma cried out with fear, his eyes softening upon hearing her confession while she continued to admit how she felt as though she was desperate to get the difficult truth she had been hiding from him all this time out into the open. "Neal and Graham. Even Walsh. I lost everyone. I… I can't lose you, too."_

 _Tears came to her eyes as Killian kept his gaze on her, his expression being one of comfort while he whispered brazenly, "Well, love… you don't have to worry about me. If there's one thing I'm good at, it's surviving."_

 _Emma's own face softened while he continued to look into her eyes for a few moments and she into his, before Killian suddenly pulled Emma firmly against him and began to kiss her passionately. This time, just like when they had kissed days ago, her instinct to push him away never came as she continued to kiss him back, not wanting this moment between them to end._

Unfortunately, Pan's voice pulled him back from his memory and forced him back into the present when he said darkly, "Continue to fight us all you want to, Hook. You're only putting off the inevitable. This is going to happen… no matter how much you think about your love for the Savior, or anyone else. And soon… they will suffer by your own hand just like you will. I promise you that."


	13. Chapter 13

Ghosts of a Chance

Chapter Thirteen

Meanwhile, back inside Emma's and Killian's bedroom…

With her mother's help, Emma carefully straightened Killian's arms and legs once she finished cutting away his shirt and pulling away the blankets that had been covering him, laying him flat on his back so they could tend to his wounds. However, she only felt helpless despite her efforts as she began caring for him, because she could do nothing to heal him or to make his pain she knew he was suffering from stop. Snow quickly left the room to get them some cool and heated water, as well as some clean rags so they could work. When she returned, Emma tenderly started wiping down his body, while Snow worked to stitch up the lacerations that needed to be with a needle she quickly sterilized since she had the most experience in doing so.

The older Princess dipped her hands into the cold water she poured into a water basin she had set down on the nightstand beside her and soaked one of the rags, then wrung it out over the deepest wounds in Killian's chest and stomach in order to help wash away some of his blood covering his body so she was able to see the injuries caused by whatever was happening to him.

Emma continued to tenderly caress his face and to hold his hand, until she swiftly rushed from the room upon hearing the water her mother had set to heat up over the stove begin to whistle to signify it was ready, then returned again so she could help him in the only way she could as she began to wipe another rag across his brow and his upper chest to try to help quell the fever still slowly rising from within him. She didn't say a word, as tears silently began to fall until she lifted the back of one of her hands every few minutes to wipe them away.

At last, Snow softly spoke again nearly twenty minutes after they had begun in order to finally break the silence that had fallen over them while they continued to work as she whispered, "If you'd rather… if it'll be easier for you, I can call for an ambulance and we can let Dr. Whale do his job so you don't have to do this, Emma. I mean…I can do this of course. I've tended to many wounds like this back in the Enchanted Forest. But when it's someone you love so deeply who's been hurt…"

Emma suddenly cut her mother off more brusquely than she intended to when she responded, "No! No… I want to do this. I mean… I need to do this. Whale may be a good doctor, but he'll want to take Killian into an operating room to work on him where I can't go and we have no idea what's happening to him. I need to stay with him in case… just in case he worsens. I don't know if he knows I'm still with him or not… whatever's going on inside of his mind, but I won't let him feel like he's all alone."

"Of course," her mother answered her in understanding while she began to stitch up another of Killian's wounds once she finished with the first. "You're right. I'm sure a part of him knows you're here with him, Emma. He doesn't need half of your heart to know that. Killian has always known you better than you've known yourself in the times when you've most doubted yourself. Like you're doubting yourself now. He trusts you and believes in you implicitly. Your father might not have always understood why the two of you work so well together, but… I do. I always have ever since we learned about what Killian sacrificed to get back to you during our missing year. Perhaps even before that. He risked his life to save your father's life in Neverland all because he had already begun to love you."

 _Emma smiled sadly and another tear slipped down her cheek from the corner of her eyes as her thoughts drifted back to that dark night in Neverland when she and Killian shared their first kiss after she practically forced herself at him. She remembered speaking with Snow and Regina when they were suddenly interrupted by the sounds of the foliage rustling behind them until the women all turned and raised their weapons… Regina her hand as she summoned a fireball within her palm, in case of another attack from Pan or his Lost Boys. Only David and Hook appeared in front of them instead upon returning from their trek, which they later learned was a trek to save David's life and not for a sextant which no longer existed._

 _"You can stand down," David quickly called out to them upon doing so. "It's us."_

 _While Emma returned her sword to its scabbard, Mary Margaret lowered her bow and returned the arrow she tethered into it back into the quiver on her back, and Regina snuffed out her flame, then David immediately walked up to his wife so that he could kiss her much to her surprise as she mumbled, "Oh! Mmm!"_

 _The Queen turned away from them in disgust as she grumbled, then looked ahead at Hook while she asked, "Uh… Where's the sextant?"_

 _"I'm afraid Pan got to it first," the pirate captain dishonestly replied, still keeping up with the lie David asked him to continue on with._

 _"Mmm," Snow mumbled again after Regina let out a loud sigh of disappointment at the news that the men's trek had been all for nothing, then Mary Margaret finally pulled back from her husband's sudden kiss and looked into his eyes. "I'm not complaining, but what was that…?"_

 _David cut her off when he suddenly kissed her again, while Emma uttered with disgust like Regina felt, "Okay… I'm complaining."_

 _Out of frustration, the Queen stated, "What I wouldn't give for another sleeping curse."_

 _At last, David pulled back from his wife, then turned his head to look over at the Captain standing back while the Prince spoke again saying, "Hook… he saved my life."_

 _"You sure you wanna tell them that, mate?" Killian questioned worryingly, knowing the risk David was taking by them keeping the secret they were to spare his wife's and daughter's feelings._

 _"On our trek, we were ambushed by Lost Boys," the Prince simply continued. "Pinned down, outnumbered. But Hook… he risked his life to stop me from getting hit by a poisoned arrow. But if it wasn't for Hook, I wouldn't be alive."_

 _"Your flask, please," David added once he made his way over to stand in front of the man he hated and didn't trust at all until now, even if said trust was only slightly more deserved than before in David's eyes, then waited for Hook to hand him his flask like he asked before continuing on in gratitude for him saving his life. "I thought he deserved a little credit."_

 _Hook stared at him in surprise until he sincerely responded, "Thank you."_

 _When Emma's father raised the flask to his mouth to take a swig of rum in the pirate captain's honor, he swallowed, then coughed at the bitterness the drink left behind in his mouth as he muttered, "Mm. Mm."_

 _"To Hook!" Snow happily cried out upon following in her husband's praise for the Captain when she took Killian's flask from him to drink from too, then attempted to hand it to Regina so she could as well, until she rejected doing so._

 _"I don't do rum," Regina coldly uttered and turned away from them to walk off._

 _However, Emma finally took the flask of rum from her mother instead, then turned to face Hook again while she said in praise, "To Hook."_

 _David and Mary Margaret then walked away from their daughter and the pirate so that they were left alone as Emma capped the flask again, releasing the sounds of satisfaction upon taking a sip before finally handing it back to the man to whom it belong to, while she looked at him almost with disbelief and questioned, "You really save his life?"_

 _"That surprise you?" Killian asked her in disappointment when he turned to face her once they stepped further away from the others._

 _"Well, you and David aren't exactly… How do you say it?" she began in reply._

 _Emma then imitated a British accent like Hook spoke with when she continued, "Mates."_

 _He nodded in understanding and then with sincerity he responded quietly, "Doesn't mean I'd leave your father to perish on this island."_

 _"Thank you," she stated sincerely as well, while she continued to look into his eyes until he turned away from her and uncomfortably scratched behind his ear as the awkwardness between them heightened._

 _"Um… Well, perhaps gratitude is in order now," Hook then continued spiritedly, partly in an effort to ease the tension and partly because he hoped she might comply to what he sought from her from the moment they first met in the Enchanted Forest, as he tapped his finger over his lips to ask her for a kiss._

 _The Savior couldn't help herself from smiling at him while she answered, "Yeah. That's what the 'thank you' was for."_

 _He showed confidence as Killian stepped in closer to the woman of his affection and replied, "Mm. That all your father's life is worth to you?"_

 _"Please," Emma responded as she felt pulled in by his alluring seduction, allowing him to move towards her until they were standing merely an inch apart. "You couldn't handle it."_

 _"Perhaps you're the one who couldn't handle it," he at last whispered to her, until much to his surprise, Emma suddenly pulled Killian into the kiss he yearned for, which quickly turned into a heated and very passionate kiss that he eagerly reciprocated._

 _They continued to kiss for a few moments, before Emma finally pulled back, her forehead still resting against his as she clung to the lapels of his jacket, then while feeling breathless and stunned, Hook spoke again softly saying, "That was, um…"_

 _However, she swiftly cut him off before he could finish as she uttered, "A onetime thing."_

 _"Don't follow me," the Savior then demanded after she pulled back and began to walk away from him. "Wait five minutes. Go get some firewood or something."_

 _"As you wish," Killian answered her in sincerity as he bowed to her slightly despite her back being to him, then once he believed Emma was out of sight, he put his fingers to his lips and breathed out, sighed, and at last exhaled deeply before he too turned to walk away to do like she asked of him, not knowing she had seen and heard him do so._

At last, Snow stopped her ministrations momentarily to try to regain her daughter's attention upon seeing that Emma's thoughts had drifted off while she continued to wipe down Killian's body. What the older woman couldn't understand that while Emma's mind returned to that moment in hers and Killian's past, all she really felt was guilt. Guilt which plagued her because she had been pushing the man she loved away a little over the last week in an effort in to hide the truth about her death she had foreseen in her visions, and the prophecy she was afraid they wouldn't be able to change that would undoubtedly destroy him too if the prophecy came to pass.

At last, Snow got through to her when she cried out again, "Emma! Hey… are you okay?"

Emma blinked and then upon realizing she had drifted off, she quickly looked up at her mother as she replied, "Yes… I'm sorry. I'm fine. I just… I couldn't help but think back to the night of our first kiss… in Neverland. What you said about him already loving me since the night he saved Dad's life made me remember that moment. It was one of the few good moments we had while we were trapped on that infernal island."

"I know," her mother responded softly with a sad smile on her face as she looked across at her daughter again, before like Emma had she too turned her attention back on the man lying beneath them while they continued their ministrations. "Your father and Regina ought to be back soon. I'm sure they'll have some answers and hopefully, a way to help him more than we've been able to until now.

"I hope so," the Savior answered worryingly, then paused in wiping the rag she was holding across his forehead a moment so she could lean down to kiss him there and could feel the heat growing stronger within him. "We're only holding off the inevitable until we find a way to save him. His fever's still rising."

Snow was about to say something until she was suddenly interrupted by a knock at the door and both women immediately turned towards the sound as the dark haired Princess apprehensively questioned, "Who could that be?"

Emma stood up and remained standing above Killian as she raised her hands out of worry to prepare to defend them should whoever it was at the door attempt to attack them, then she replied, "I know that if it was the Evil Queen, she wouldn't knock or wait for us to answer the door. She and Hyde would simply barge right in. But I'd rather not take any chances. Go ahead… answer and let them in."

Her mother nodded and walked over to do like her daughter said. However, upon opening the door, both women were surprised to see Archie standing in the doorway and she immediately motioned for him to come inside. When he did so, it was then that he saw Killian's dreaded state and at first he couldn't think of the right words to say to the woman who loved his friend.


	14. Chapter 14

Ghosts of a Chance

Chapter Fourteen

"Oh no…" the doctor uttered worryingly once he walked inside the bedroom after he arrived at his friends' home, then froze upon seeing Killian lying on the bed unconscious and bleeding out from multiple wounds across his stomach and his chest. "What… what happened to him? Did Mr. Hyde do this? I thought he was okay. Belle said…"

"Hyde only helped to start this mess," Snow finally answered him before Archie could continue talking, while Emma finally lowered her hands and then sat down beside the man she loved once again so she could keep trying to help him. "But this isn't from the injuries Killian sustained last night. No… this is the Evil Queen's doing and whatever ghosts are currently possessing him."

Archie looked between the dark haired woman and the Savior in shock by the revelation as he replied, "Hook is possessed? By what? Or Who?"

Emma kept her eyes down on Killian's face while she sadly responded, "Mindless souls from the Underworld. The Evil Queen… raised them up and brought them here. So they could hurt Killian for her. We just don't know why yet. But they are hurting him. From the inside out and I don't know… how to help him. My magic isn't powerful enough to. No one's is. Not even Regina's either. The only one who can stop this is the Evil Queen and I doubt anything Regina or my father can say to her will convince her to change her mind."

"Emma… I'm so sorry," Dr. Hopper answered her with remorse when he looked at her from across the bed as he remained standing. "I came over here this morning to congratulate you both on moving in together. I was happy that you were able to accept my advice, Emma, and yet… What can I do? For you… for him? Anything. I want to help in whatever way I can."

"We could use some more clean water," the older Princess replied quietly, as she reached down to pick up the water basin now holding bloodied water and soiled rags and then handed it over to him. "Hot and cold water. We're all helping him in any way we can."

He nodded and took the bowl carefully into his hands while he stared down into the bloody red water, then responded, "Of course. It's the least… the least I can do."

Archie turned towards the door and was about to leave the room, until Killian suddenly began to gasp as he struggled to breathe for reasons unknown. Emma immediately laid her hands over his chest and attempted to help him in any way she could, but thankfully his breathing became under control again within moments like nothing was ever wrong, as his body finally stilled.

Emma stared down at him in fear while she raised one of her hands to his face again and then whispered, "Killian… There has to be something I can do. I can't just sit here and hold him while he fights alone against whatever the hell he's suffering from! I'm the Savior… This isn't right."

"Emma… we've talked about this," her mother answered worryingly, then motioned to Archie so he could continue with what he started to do before the trouble arose and waited for him to leave the room. "I know how scared you are for him. But like I told you, your father and Regina will be back soon with some answers. Hopefully one that might help us ease Killian's pain a little until we can save him."

"I know," the younger woman replied in despair and then broke down as she suddenly released a sob when she began to cry. "Why… why does he keep on suffering… because of me?"

Snow rushed forward and sat down on the end of the bed while she gently leaned over her daughter, wrapping her arms around her in hope of offering Emma as much comfort as she could, then spoke again softly saying, "You're wrong, baby. This isn't your fault. And just because you love him so much… and because he loves you… It's not why he keeps suffering like this."

The Savior raised her head to look up at her as she curtly responded, "Killian was struck in the neck by Excalibur when he got it away from Arthur for me. And it killed him. I tried to save him. But because I was desperate, I forced the darkness into him and he became that which he most feared and hated for centuries. Killian was lost for a little while, but I brought the man I loved back because he was stronger than he's ever believed himself to be and in doing so, he gave his life for me… again. He was tortured down in the Underworld by Hades because he sacrificed himself for me knowing full well where he would end up. There were other times. And now… Now, we're finally together again and for a brief moment, I actually thought we could be happy. But the Evil Queen knows that to hurt me, the best way to do it is to hurt him because a part of her won't hurt her own son and she most likely has her own plans for you and Dad. So yeah, Mom… this is my fault. He would have been better off if…"

"If what?" the older woman sternly questioned her when Emma sat up and leaned back on her legs. "If he never became the hero that Killian is thanks to you too? Because I think he would be the first one to tell you exactly how wrong you are about that, Emma. A big part of him still hates himself because he hates the man he used to be, and he struggles to believe he's better than he thinks he is. But he's allowed himself to love you because you've helped him accept he deserves to be loved."

"You're right," Emma whispered and then she finally turned back to the man she loved again. "In times like these, it's hard for me to believe. However, I know you're right, Mom. I'm sorry. I'm just really scared."

Snow nodded in understanding, then pulled her daughter into another embrace while she answered, "I know you are. But I promise you we will save him. We always do, Emma. Just like we always fight to save everyone here."

Archie returned again with the fresh water and more clean rags, then started to set them down on the nightstand again, until Hook suddenly began to stir again as his eyes scrunched up in pain and his whole body tensed before he unleashed a small cry. Both Emma and Snow immediately stood over him while the younger woman reached down to try to help him. But when she did so, he swiftly reached out to grasp her hand when he opened his eyes, then stared all around him until his eyes finally landed directly on Emma's as he smiled at her strangely, and the Savior could sense right away that it wasn't Killian who had just awakened while looking into her eyes.

She glared down at him as she took a few steps back and asked crossly, "Who the hell are you?"

"Emma?" her mother questioned in confusion when she saw the sudden coldness in her daughter's eyes and the stiffness in her body while she stared down into the man's she loved.

"Hello again, Emma," the ghost's voice coming through Killian's mouth replied to her cockily. "It feel like it's been a long time. But it hasn't been. Not really. You've still got fire. I like fire."

Upon finally recognizing who was speaking to her, her eyes widened in shock as she fearfully responded, "No… Pan."

Snow and Archie both looked at her in their own shock as the doctor uttered, "Pan? You mean, Pan's the ghost now speaking through Hook? But how… How is that even possible?"

"Because he's one of the ghosts Regina said was possessing him," the Savior answered again in frustration, without turning away from him. "Of course one would have to be you. And I'm betting it wasn't a coincidence that you're here either. She specifically summoned you here from the Underworld… somehow. The question is… why? And if you're nothing but a mindless soul, then how are you able to remember who you were? Who we are and are able to speak with us like you're still him. Even if it is through Hook."

"Wow… you and Killian really do think alike," the evil child replied again when he stood up from the bed. "I still don't understand why you love him so much, but I do understand why he loves you. I don't have time to go through the whole explanation all over again like we did for your boyfriend. The short version… it's because of his memories and knowledge of who we were that brought us back. I like it here. We all do."

Emma glared at him as she retorted, "Who else is in him with you?"

It was then that Pan lowered his head down against his chest for a brief moment, before he lifted it again when someone else spoke through Killian once more as they responded, "There are a few of us in here. It's a bit crowded, but… it certainly beats being one of those things you're all so eager to destroy to save the man who fell in love with you and forgot all about me."

"Milah," Emma stated, recognizing who she meant as quickly as before.

"And Gaston, my husband's own new love's former fiancé… or his old love now I suppose, and Prince James… your father's identical twin," Milah continued haughtily. "Of course we're not here coincidentally. The Evil Queen brought us back because I'm suspecting she felt we were the most capable of tormenting my former lover. She wants to destroy the Savior, Emma. She wants to destroy what you are really badly. So, I'm going to do the honors."

Before Emma, or the others in the room could try to make sense of what she meant, the woman currently possessing Hook suddenly charged at Emma and began to attack her once she swiftly pulled the sheriff's gun from her holster, then attempted to shoot her. However, the Savior grabbed hold of the barrel and aimed it up at the ceiling before the shot fired.

Snow immediately rushed forward to try to help her daughter, but because Milah was much stronger within Hook's body, she was easily able to shove the dark haired woman off of her and onto the floor when the Princess jumped up onto his back to try to fight her from behind while Emma struggled against Killian's grip around her wrist.

Emma struggled to fight against her love's former lover, especially once Milah suddenly slashed her arm using a knife she picked up from the nightstand to defend herself with. At last Milah knew trying to kill the Savior in this moment with others around to help her was foolhardy. So, before the blonde haired woman could stop her, Milah raised Killian's leg and kicked her against her chest to force Emma back, reached out to quickly grab for the pirate captain's brace and fake hand, then immediately ran from the room before they could try to stop him again. Emma tried calling out to him to get him to stop, until she remembered it wasn't Killian in control any longer.


	15. Chapter 15

Ghosts of a Chance

Chapter Fifteen

When they left the farmhouse once the Evil Queen finished telling them everything she was willing to, David and Regina stepped down off the porch as the Prince let out a sigh in frustration, then he said sternly, "This was nothing but a waste of time. How did any of that help us? How… How am I supposed to go back to Emma, and tell her that Hook hasn't suffered nearly enough yet… before the Evil Queen takes even one step towards helping him?"

Regina shook her head as she replied, "At least we know what she's done to him. You need to try to relax, David. We'll figure this out. We just need to be patient."

"Tell that to Emma and Hook!" David curtly retorted when he turned his head to glare at her. "Think, Regina… You used to be her. I mean… she's from inside of you, so you know how she thinks. What could she possibly want from Emma? Other than maybe to see her dead. Just like Snow. Like me. Like you…?"

"She could be doing this for any number of reasons," she crossly responded. "She might want to force Emma to give up Henry so she can get one of his mothers out of the way, she could be hoping to make Emma so desperate to save Hook that she will do just about anything to save him, or she just might want to make Emma suffer because she's evil… as you know. And hurting the man she loves most is the best way to begin doing that."

Before David could say anything more, Mr. Hyde spoke as he walked up on them and stood a few feet away saying, "I suppose you could say that she's doing this for all those reasons above, and more. Does it really matter why?"

The sheriff glared at the monster while he swiftly pulled his service weapon and aimed it at Hyde, then answered, "Of course it matters. The reason why might be the only chance we have to save Hook. Unless of course… you want to tell us what the Evil Queen is up to?"

"Now why would I do that, when she's going to help me make the Dark One pay for what he took from me?" the villain replied, completely unfazed by the gun being pointed between his eyes. "She's the only one who will. You all might despise him nearly as much as I do, but you're all too good to help me kill him. So, I must align myself with someone who can."

"Don't you think that if killing the Dark One was something she could do, that she… or myself, would have done so?" Regina questioned angrily. "Believe me… a number of us have tried killing him. It's not so easy to do."

Hyde grinned coolly and then responded, "At least she's willing. And I think you underestimate what she's capable of doing now that she's free from you, Your Majesty."

David struggled to keep his anger in check while he kept his eyes trained on the doppelganger, then once he got himself under control, he finally lowered his gun, holstered it again, and answered, "We don't have time for this. Come on, Regina. We need to get back."

"I suggest that you convince the Savior to give into Her Majesty, sheriff… Your Majesty," the monster called out to them before Regina whisked them away to return to Emma and Snow. "Whenever the Queen gets around to revealing what it is she is after. Otherwise, the pirate will die. And he will. There won't be anything anyone can do to save him without her giving in."

"Watch us," Regina darkly replied, then finally used her magic to transport herself and David back to Emma's and Killian's home.

Once they arrived, Emma was standing over Hook's bedside as she was staring down at his blood still covering the sheets in shock, while Snow stood behind her with her arms wrapped around her daughter and Archie was sitting in one of the room's chairs. Killian was nowhere in sight.

David walked over to his wife and their daughter while he looked at Emma worryingly especially when he saw the cut on her arm she had yet to heal as he asked, "Emma… what happened? Where's Hook? Is he okay?"

Snow turned to face him as she saw how distraught Emma was and then responded for her, "He's gone. Not… gone, gone. Just… Those other beings you said you sensed inside of him before, Regina… they took him over. Possessed him. And what's worse… is that they're all people we all knew who were big trouble even before they became these ghosts from the Underworld."

"Wait… you know?" Regina questioned. "So us going to talk with my other self really was a waste of time."

"Did they say anything to you?" the Prince asked again. "Did they say whatever it was the Evil Queen was after? She is the one giving them their commands to hurt Hook. Who are they?"

Emma finally lifted her eyes to look at her father as she darkly stated, "It's like Mom said… they were people we knew. People forced into the River of Lost Souls because of us, who are going to use Killian so they can get their revenge on those responsible knowing full well how much guilt and pain it's going to cause him. Pan, Milah, Gaston, and James. Your brother, Dad."

David stared at her in surprise while he questioned, "James was risen from the River of Lost Souls? He's here?"

"He isn't James anymore, David," Snow answered him sadly, understanding her husband's concern. "He's only a ghost with no real mind of his own, using only Killian's thoughts and knowledge of who he was. And James didn't speak through him like Pan and Milah did."

"Milah used Killian's body to attack me knowing that I would fight the hardest to save him," Emma finally continued sadly, as Regina walked over to stand in front of her and healed the laceration over her arm. "And because she thinks she believes Killian betrayed his love for her because he loves me. There's clearly a part of him that must still believe he betrayed his love for her when he fell in love with me. I'm going after him. We will figure out a way to free Killian. But for now, we can't let these ghosts hurt anyone else. He's in there somewhere. We can't let them hurt anyone using his mind and body to do so. And I won't let them destroy what little belief he has that he deserves to be saved. Not again."


	16. Chapter 16

Ghosts of a Chance

Chapter Sixteen

After her mind was made up, Emma walked into her bathroom so she could change out of her robe, tank top, and flannel pants she had worn to bed the night before, then came back out a few minutes later with her hair pulled back and determination in her eyes to fight against the ghosts possessing the man she loved to save him from them no matter what it took for her to do so. David, Snow, Archie, and Regina all watched the Savior in concern, especially when she didn't say anything more about what she was planning to do, until Emma walked over to her closest to pull out her red leather jacket and quickly put it on before she finally removed her gun to lay it down on the nightstand on her side of the bed so the lost souls wouldn't be able to use it against her or anyone else again.

"Emma… I know how worried you are about Hook, but what exactly is your plan in going after him?" David asked his daughter at last, when he reached out to lay her hands over the younger woman's shoulders in order to turn Emma around to face him. "If you think you're going after him alone…"

"Of course not," Emma interrupted abruptly as she finally took a moment to look into her father's and mother's eyes, when Snow also walked over to stand in front of her too. "I'm sorry… It's just that my mind is running wild right now. I'm scared. I'm angry… so angry. And I just want this all to be over. All I've come up with so far, is having us split up into pairs so that we can try to find him. Archie, I need you to go into town and warn people that if they see Killian, especially if he's doing something out of character, that they're not to try to talk to him or confront him, but to call one of us right away."

The doctor nodded and responded, "All right. I hope you find him, Emma. And again I'm so… so sorry. If there's anything else you need from me, just call me. I'll help in any way I can."

Once he left the room, Regina spoke again sternly saying, "You've come up with a good plan so far, but what's next? Hook was only able to get his hands on your gun before and attack you because none of us saw his attack coming. Now we know."

"It was Milah, not Killian," Emma curtly replied when she turned her eyes on her friend and looked at her coldly, because for a brief moment the only person she could see when doing so was the Evil Queen and not her friend. "Remember that."

"You're right," Regina answered upon seeing the coldness in Emma's eyes, and yet she understood, especially when her eyes softened.

The Savior glanced down as she regretfully responded, "I'm sorry, Regina. It's just… it's hard sometimes to remember you're now two people and that one of you is even worse than the woman you were when I first arrived here in this town. It's not fair, I know. I'm just really scared right now. Killian's been through so much. We all have of course. Especially you. But…"

The Mayor cut her off as she quietly replied, "It's okay, Emma. I understand your struggle to see me and the Evil Queen as two separate people right now. And you're afraid for the man you love. Believe me, I get it. Ever since my other self arrived in Storybrooke, I sometimes look in the mirror and see the woman she is looking back too. She warned me after I killed Edmund the other day that I was fooling myself for thinking I could be someone other than who I used to be. I want to ignore her and most days I believe she was wrong, but not… not always. And you're right that Hook has been through a lot lately. With having been the Dark One, having sacrificed himself to save us all from the darkness, being tortured by Hades down in the Underworld, and then having to deal with facing me after what happened to Robin. I know he feels guilty about his death just like you do, even though… it wasn't his fault. Not at all. Nor was it yours. Hades killed him. And Zelena made it possible for Hades to come here to Storybrooke in the first place after she gave him true loves kiss. But all of that's neither here nor there right now. Our main concern is saving Hook right now. Your plan to split up is a good idea. So long as you and I each take one of your parents so we can protect them with our magic. I'll take Snow and we'll search for Hook in town. We'll head to Gold's shop and try to warn that imp he's become a target for at least two angry ghosts."

"Actually… it's three," David corrected her. "Gold killed not only Pan and Milah, but Belle said that Gaston had tried to kill him when we were in the Underworld because Rumplestiltskin killed him years ago."

"Great… so three angry ghosts are going to try to seek revenge against the most powerful Dark One that's ever been," Regina answered snidely out of frustration. "And he's not going to care that these lost souls are currently in Hook's body. Don't worry, Emma… we won't let him try to harm Hook."

The Savior smiled at her friend as she responded, "Thank you, Regina."

She then turned to her father, then continued, "And Dad and I will head down to the harbor… to the Jolly Roger. We'll warn Belle if she's there that Gaston or even Milah might also want to try to harm her. That way, I can also protect Dad should James attempt to attack him for how he ended up in the River of Lost Souls too."

"I don't know James hardly at all, but he made it pretty clear when we fought before that he doesn't have the self control to stop himself from wanting to kill me," the Prince replied sadly when he turned his head to look between his wife and daughter again. "I have no doubt that he will definitely try again. The question is only a matter of when."

"That won't happen," Emma answered assuredly as Snow wrapped her arms around David to offer him comfort before they split up to search for their friend. "Come on… it's time to go."

A short time later, Emma and David walked into the harbor and finally slowed their steps as they neared the Jolly Roger in case the lost souls returned to the ship, not wanting to startle them, or to kickstart their anger enough to get them to use Killian again to attack them or anyone else.

Unfortunately, when they climbed aboard after they walked up the gangplank, the Savior and her father immediately grew worried when they saw both Belle and Smee bound together against one of the ship's masts with their arms at their sides, as Hook stood a few feet away from them… fully dressed once again within his pirate apparel, his fake hand attached, and a cutlass in hand.

When the two captives saw their friends step aboard, Hook's first mate called out to them first with relief as he stated, "Oh… Miss. Swan and Sheriff Nolan… Thank God you're both here. Does someone want to explain to us why the Captain's suddenly acting like he's not himself?"

Before either Emma or David could say anything, one of the ghosts within him callously responded, "I thought I've already made it quite clear to you both that I wasn't your Captain at the moment, Mr. Smee. But then, you never really were the brightest pirate. None of Hook's crew ever were too bright for that matter. It's a wonder Hook was able to maintain command of his crews for as long as he did. I will give him some credit and say that he certainly was smart when it came to picking men for his crew who weren't foolish enough to ever mutiny against a well learned former Naval Lieutenant."

"Wait… Pan?" Smee uttered in shock upon recognizing the cruel taunting and that the only person aside from Hook himself who had past knowledge of the crews he and his Captain sailed with, was the demon they worked for over two centuries in Neverland. "But how… You can't be."

"Emma… What's happening?" Belle called out to the Savior worryingly, with more concern for her friend being possessed than for herself. "What's wrong with Killian? Is he really possessed by Pan?"

While keeping her eyes on Killian, as Pan still within him turned his head to look smugly between those he had taken prisoner until he turned his attention back on the woman who loved the pirate and her father, Emma finally spoke to the beauty sternly saying, "I'm afraid so. And he's not the only one possessing him either. Don't worry… they won't hurt either of you."

The demon child as Killian always called him haughtily replied, "You really shouldn't make a promise that you can't keep, Emma. We knew you would come here first. And we knew that my son's lovely wife would be here too. Mr. Smee here just so happened to come by to check up on her like his Captain had asked him to from time to time. Bad timing on his part. So I bound them both to the mast. They ought to be grateful we didn't string them up like we've done to Killian here inside of his own mind… his arms tightly stretched high above his head, while he's forced to watch as we hurt those he cares about and remains far too weak to be able to do anything to stop us."

"I want to talk to James!" David suddenly called out to the ghost currently in control of his friend's body, in order to draw Pan away from Smee when he raised his sword to the first mate's throat. "I know he's in there with you. Let me talk to him."

"Dad…" Emma whispered, glancing over at her father as she uttered his name in fear when he did so. "You can't give him a chance to… He's not your brother anymore. Remember?"

Pan lowered Killian's head against his chest and when he lifted it again to look between those standing before him, it was no longer Pan speaking through Killian anymore, but James like David had asked for, as the conceited Prince answered, "I may not be the man I used to be no thanks to my brother here, Emma. But I still remember what he did to me. Both in life and down in the Underworld when he forced me off the docks and into the River of Lost Souls. I'm nothing but a mindless ghost! And you, David… you're still breathing."

David looked across the ship's deck at his friend with remorse, knowing it really was his brother and responded, "James, I… I didn't want to hurt you. I was trying to help you. To help you move on from that Hell. I never wanted you to wind up as one of Hades' lost souls. I never wanted this. Please… please don't hurt Hook anymore. He doesn't deserve what you're doing to him."

"I don't have a choice," James darkly replied as he grinned at his brother and swiftly tossed the blade he was still holding at the good son for him to catch it so they could fight in a duel, before walking over to a large chest set upon the deck nearby the main mast where Hook kept more swords stored away to pick another one out for himself, then stood tall again while the two brothers faced one another again like they had in their fight down in the Underworld. "The Evil Queen wants me to torture your friend to hurt him and the woman he loves. And hurting those he loves is the best way of doing so. He cares very little about what happens to himself. It's pathetic really. But I can't say that being controlled by Her Majesty doesn't have its advantages for me too. Mainly… a second chance to kill you. So let's fight."

"No!" Emma harshly cried out when she raised her hands so she could use her magic to render Killian unconscious, until all of a sudden, the Evil Queen appeared behind her and immediately used her own power to immobilize the Savior before she could so she couldn't interfere in the battle about to take place between the twin brothers.

David saw this and attempted to return to his daughter to protect her upon seeing her become frozen by the villainess' power, until the Evil Queen said snidely, "Ah… You know as well as I do, David, that you can't do anything to help Emma. Don't worry… I still need what I'm after from her. She's only immobilized so she can't interfere. I suggest you fight your brother, or I will have James kill both Belle and the Captain's loyal first mate. Let's see which one of you is the better swordsman and warrior."

Charming raised the sword now in his hand as he prepared himself for the battle he knew he had no choice but to fight upon seeing the Evil Queen summon Hook's hook into her hand so she could fully control those tethered to it, and stared at his blade in regret, then turned towards his daughter again to look into her eyes knowing she could still see and hear everything happening around her while he assured her by stating, "It's gonna be okay, Emma. I promise, I'll be fine. And I won't hurt Hook either."

"I wouldn't make that kind of promise, brother," James retorted cruelly, then the ghost inside Killian's body suddenly charged at David with his own sword raised and immediately attempted to kill him as their blades clashed when the sheriff defended himself.

"Damn it, James!" his twin curtly whispered to his brother when they momentarily stood only inches apart, while both men continued fighting in a match that appeared to be fairly even despite James having the slight advantage over David because he now had two skill sets… his own and Hook's. "Why can't you look past your hate and try to listen to reason?"

The villain glared at him coldly as their swords became locked between them, then he answered, "I don't want to look past my hate. It's all I have… because of you!"

They pulled apart and their swords struck again and again, until James bent down to one knee and used Hook's fake hand to knock David's legs out from under him in order to knock him onto his back against the deck, causing Emma's father to drop his sword. And then just as quickly, he swiftly forced his own blade against his brother's chest to keep Charming down.

Through Hook, James laughed as he smugly looked down at David upon becoming the victor of their battle, and swiftly slashed his sword across David's chest, causing the good man to cry out in pain, then the Evil Queen walked over to stand beside her puppet as she spoke in command saying smugly, "Go on and do what it is you've been waiting to do all your life. Kill him."

"Not today you won't!" another voice suddenly called out from above them just as the spoiled Prince raised his sword to run David through, much to everyone's surprise when the Blue Fairy flew down while she quickly used the power within her wand to force both Hook and the Evil Queen back through the air and across the deck until they landed roughly upon striking the wall of the upper deck. "Our scouts said there was trouble in the harbor."

"Who's we?!" the villainess questioned the fairy angrily as she glared up at the fairy, who then made herself big to stand beside David, then the doppelganger struggled to rise back to her feet again, as did the ghosts within Hook's body.

Grumpy, Happy, Doc, and Sneezy all appeared as they ran up onto the deck with their axes raised in front of them just behind Blue and another of the fairies while Grumpy responded angrily, "That would be us, Sister. We don't know what's going on, but you're not going to hurt anyone else."

The Evil Queen glared at them, then finally released her hold over Emma, who immediately ran to her father's side to help him when he struggled to stand despite the pain in his chest from his wound, and finally she looked over at Hook as she commanded again, "Wait for me for further instructions. I'll be with you soon."

"The mindless souls inside of your pirate aren't finished fighting for their revenge just yet, Savior," the villainess said cruelly when she turned back to face Emma again after teleporting Hook away. "Your father was lucky."

"How did you do this?" the Savior asked her in anger as she glared at their enemy before them, while she and Blue held David up between them. "It's one thing to tether one being to an object like Zelena did to Merlin, or like all the Dark Ones are singularly tethered to the dagger when they were in power, and then to Excalibur when Hook summoned them into the sword to save us. But I felt them all fighting to break free from Excalibur after I took it from Hook before he sacrificed himself to try to destroy the darkness. They would have had I continued to refuse to do what I had to do just a few seconds longer. They're only still bound inside the dagger now because…"

The Evil Queen cut in before Emma could go on as she replied, "Because Gold has been the Dark One far longer than any of the others before him and he knew exactly the amount of power needed to succeed in creating such a tethering spell strong enough to tether their souls permanently inside the dagger once it became reforged after Excalibur was destroyed. When you murdered your true love. Even without the extra magic this special day gives to those of us with power. You see… on Halloween, kids believe in ghosts, witches, and monsters under their beds and in their closets. It's their belief that increases real magic throughout the world. Especially within our own where magic truly exists. The potion Gold used to restore the darkness into himself… it was more. It was also a tethering potion that grew stronger once he became the Dark One again, so he could steal the power of all the Dark Ones before him, including yours and Hook's. I simply replicated Gold's tethering potion, only mine's not nearly as strong. It needed a boost in its power, which the power of All Hallows' Eve gave me. But enough of that. How much do you want to save your pirate, Emma? I know you love him. The real question is… how much are you willing to sacrifice for him?"

Emma kept her eyes trained darkly on the villainess while she steadfastly answered, "I went to Hell to get him back. You know damn well what I would sacrifice to save him. What do you want from me?"

"Tell me… Do you want to be free of the heavy burden you carry with you day in and day out?" Regina's doppelganger questioned her again. "Perhaps your tremors… are a cause of your fears manifesting themselves. You were finally happy. You have a man who loves enough to sacrifice his own happiness and his life time and time again, and yet you're afraid that because you're the Savior… you won't be able to have the life with him you really want. Rid yourself of your magic. I can help you with that. Just by you declaring your undying love for him on his name like Hook did to prove his love for you when my sister stripped you of your power. Give up being the Savior and I will set him free. By untethering him from the miserable mindless souls trapped inside of his body, then return them to that green river in the Underworld. You can live your happy life together. What do you say, Emma?"

"Emma… you can't," her father responded pleadingly as he looked at her in worry that she might consider the Queen's offer.

She looked down momentarily and then raised her eyes to look at the villainess again in despair when she replied, "No. No… I can't do that to Killian again. It hurt him knowing I sacrificed my magic to save his life once. That I once gave up a part of myself which made me the Savior and was willing to risk the lives of everyone I cared about for him. And because I couldn't believe in myself when he did more than anyone. We weren't even together back then. I won't make that mistake again. I am the Savior and I'll be damned if I let you take Killian from me again. We will find another way to stop you… Your Majesty."

The Evil Queen smiled cruelly, then she answered, "Suit yourself, Savior. Don't say that I didn't give you a fair chance to save your true love."

Before Emma or Blue could use their powers to try to stop her, the doppelganger vanished from before them in a purple cloud of smoke. Once she was gone, they focused their attention on David as Emma raised her hand to his chest to heal his wound, then allowed her father to pull her into an embrace upon seeing the heartbreak in his daughter's eyes. The dwarfs walked over to free Belle and Smee, then together they all left the Jolly Roger to return to town to find Snow and Regina.


	17. Chapter 17

Ghosts of a Chance

Chapter Seventeen

Meanwhile, inside Gold's Pawnshop…

Gold was busy reading one of his books on the many artifacts he's collected over the centuries he's been the Dark One that had come over with him in the curse, for anything that might help him with his son and Belle, when Snow and Regina both entered, then walked up to the counter as the Mayor called out, "We need to talk to you. To warn you… actually. There's a very good chance you're about to become someone's target of revenge."

He scoffed without looking away from the pages and then asked, "I'm surprised either of you would care enough to take the trouble to come in here to give me this warning. To whose lust for revenge have I become the target of today? Is it Hook again?"

"It's funny you should assume it was him," Snow sternly responded when she and Regina looked at him skeptically upon sensing he already knew more than he was saying.

"You know what's going on," Regina then said to him accusingly. "Don't you? You already know what's happened to Hook and what the Evil Queen is up to. And yet you're just fine with it? Does it not worry you at all that those things inside of Hook might want to try to kill you? At least three of them. Your father… your ex wife… Gaston… The fourth ghost inside of him is David's twin brother and luckily for you, he's probably solely focused on wanting David dead."

Gold finally raised his head to look up at them women standing in front of him, then replied, "And yet… they'll fail because I can't be killed."

Snow shook her head in frustration and then she answered, "Maybe not. But that doesn't mean they won't target Belle and your son in order to make you hurt. Why didn't you tell us sooner what was going on? How long have you known?"

"I couldn't care less about what happens to Hook," the Dark One cruelly responded. "Or to Emma, or anyone else but me, Belle, and my son. And I've known since last night. The Evil Queen told me she was planning something. She didn't reveal what, but she did say I would know where to find her if I wanted to see her fulfill her plan firsthand. She was right. I went down to the lake and watched her open the portal to the Underworld. I saw her tether the ghosts of our enemies, including Milah, to Hook's hook and I knew that the Evil Queen was going to use them to hurt the pirate and others. But they won't hurt Belle or my son. Her Majesty and I have a deal. And an alliance."

"Maybe so," Regina replied crossly while she glared at the villain before them. "But who's to say that she won't think twice about going back on your deal if this trouble she's begun goes beyond today. You and I both know that our magic is only stronger for today. If she's forced to keep Hook as her puppet past midnight tonight, it's going to take a lot more effort on her part to keep four souls tethered inside of him and to his hook. She'll want to offer them a deal that will allow her to keep in control of them. And seeing as three of them want to make you pay…"

Rumplestiltskin looked at the former Queen again and then he answered, "You may be right, dearie. I appreciate the warning and I will be sure to take the proper precautions. Good luck with trying to rescue the Savior and her pirate… again. And don't come to me again for help. I don't particularly care what happens anymore. I believe I've made myself pretty clear on that."

The Princess let out a sigh, then she responded sadly, "I know how desperate you are not to lose your second born son like you lost Neal, Gold. I understand how you feel better than you think I do. But if you really care about him and your wife… if you really want to be together as a family, then you have to fight for your family. And you have to do so with love, not with hate like you've been showing since you became the Dark One again. Right now… all we all feel for you is sorry. Because villains never get their happy endings. I do hope you'll remember your love for Belle."

"Get out," Gold retorted darkly, as he glared at her once more and then watched them turn and walk out the door until they were finally gone.

He stared ahead of him in anger as he struggled to ignore Snow White's advice. But he knew she was right and yet he couldn't take the risk that Belle might not ever forgive him any longer. So, he had no choice but to continue on his current path. Gold returned to try to focus his attention on the book in front of him. However, his thoughts returned to the moment Belle woke up from the sleeping curse she had been trapped under while they were still within the Dream World.

 _"_ _Belle," Gold whispered her name softly, when she finally gasped awake and exhaled in struggling to regain her bearings._

 _The beauty sat up with her husband's help and turned to look over at him worryingly as she replied, "_ _Our son… h… he was testing me… playing the part of Morpheus to see if I'd do right by him."_

 _He bowed his head in despair while he answered, "And like my other son… I've lost him too. Even before he's born."_

 _"If you ever let true love wake you up, then maybe you wouldn't keep losing," his wife responded crossly and then stood up from the altar, as Gold pulled out the Sorcerer's wand in order to open up a portal that would take them back home._

 _"We can discuss this at home," Gold sternly replied as he did so._

 _Belle walked around him to walk through first, but she paused momentarily while she looked into his eyes and retorted sternly, "Oh, I'll go back… but uh… I'm not making a home with you. Our son gave me a warning, and I'm going to listen to it."_

When his memory of that moment ended, the Dark One looked down at the pages from the book opened to him again and then stated coldly, "I do love you, Belle. And our son too. But this time, things will go my way and soon… you will have no choice but to either accept it, or not. And if you don't… then you will lose."


	18. Chapter 18

Ghosts of a Chance

Chapter Eighteen

When the Evil Queen transported Hook from the Jolly Roger, the lost souls within him found themselves outside of Zelena's farmhouse. Once the Prince, who was still in control of the Captain's body, grasped that he had failed to kill his brother again, he screamed out in anger geared towards David, and the Blue Fairy for saving his twin, as well as towards the villainess for pulling him away from the confrontation before he could retaliate against David again when he was so close to finally getting his own revenge.

"Don't worry… you'll have another chance to try to kill your brother," the Evil Queen then stated when she appeared behind him moments later, then started towards her sister's house to walk inside as she motioned for James to follow her. "And the others will have their own chances… yadda yadda…"

"I could have killed him now!" James angrily replied while he remained standing beside the well, refusing to follow the doppelganger inside. "You shouldn't have magicked us away from the ship. Why didn't you kill that fairy and those dwarfs after they attacked us? Surely your power is stronger than hers?!"

As Regina's dark self turned back to face Hook before she climbed the steps of the porch to walk inside when the ghost refused to follow after her, she answered snidely, "My magic is more powerful than that fairy's is. But we lost the element of surprise and another plan of attack has presented itself to me. We just have to be patient."

David's twin brother glared at the villainess while he responded coldly, "I am tired of being patient. Besides, I'm not the only one trapped inside this one handed pirate's body, and they all want their revenge."

"That's right… the rest of us deserve our chance to make Rumplestiltskin suffer for destroying us too," Gaston then continued once he suddenly took over James' control. "Not just once, but twice. And the best way to make the Dark One hurt… is to kill the woman he loves and their child. After all… Belle was actually the one who forced me into the Green River because of him. You had her there. Why didn't you magic her away here with us?"

"All in due time," the doppelganger replied in frustration, sensing that the ghosts were all growing restless, and more and more defiant. "Had the Prince still in there somewhere not taken that extra second to wound his good half instead of simply killing him, then things would have gone a lot better for all of you."

The Evil Queen raised Killian's hook in her hands again and when she waved one hand over the metal weapon, each of the ghosts within the Captain, as well as Hook himself, all began to scream out in sheer anguish through the man whose body was being possessed, as they began to feel like their souls were on fire. The spell she had cast over the hook worked in more ways than one, allowing her to hurt them should they attempt to be defiant despite her being in full control over them.

She laughed cruelly and then at last she released them from their pain while she spoke again saying, "You've been reminded which of us is in control of our little alliance. Me. So, stop complaining and trying to convince me what you all need. So long as you help me convince the Savior to sacrifice her powers to save her true love, then you will all get whatever it is you want too. Prince Charming, the Dark One's beauty, and the Dark One himself will all get what they deserve. Now, shall we go inside so we can continue our little talk?"

Back in town once those who fought aboard the Jolly Roger returned from the harbor…

Emma walked in silence down the street towards Gold's shop where she and the others following after her hoped to meet up with Snow and Regina, while Blue and the dwarfs attempted to ask questions so they could be caught up on what was going on, hoping they could continue to be of help so they could save their friend.

Grumpy looked between the Savior and David while he asked, "So… you're saying that Hook is being possessed… by not just one ghost, but four? How is that even possible?"

"Who are they?" Happy questioned quickly as well. "And what are they really after?"

"They're souls who were once trapped down in the Underworld and then tossed away into the River of Lost Souls," the Prince among them answered sternly as he glanced back between his friends, then returned his attention on his daughter, who stared coldly ahead of her as she kept walking forward, and had yet to speak to him or anyone else since the Evil Queen had immobilized her to keep her from trying to save her father and the man she loved. "Souls that a few of us put there."

Blue nodded in understanding as she looked between David and Emma while she responded, "And now the Evil Queen has raised them up from the Underworld, using Hook as their conduit and his hook as their tether in order to keep them under her complete control… all to force Emma into giving up her powers? That's… that's horrible. I'm so sorry, Emma. What more can we do?"

When the Savior still didn't answer, whether she wasn't listening, or she was just ignoring everyone no one knew for sure, David turned to the fairy again and replied, "We really don't know right now. We do finally know what it is the Evil Queen wants from Emma, but we have no idea how we can help Hook so long as his hook is in her possession. And since Regina and I confronted her earlier this morning, I'm guessing she keeps it on her at all times. Thank you for saving us, Blue."

He immediately looked between the dwarfs as well and added, "You too. All of you. My brother would have killed me if you hadn't have arrived when you did. And God knows what else."

"David… Are you alright?" Snow asked worryingly, especially upon seeing the blood covering his shirt from his wound that had already been healed when she and Regina both walked up on them after they came from the pawnshop still several feet ahead of them down the street, having heard her husband expressing his gratitude to their friends for saving his life, then she wrapped her arms around her husband in an embrace. "What happened?"

"The ghosts and the Evil Queen knew we'd search for Killian aboard his ship," Emma finally spoke curtly in answer before her father or anyone could, without looking up from the ground in front of her feet. "Of course they knew. They held Belle and Smee prisoner, then I was immobilized by the Evil Queen before I could do anything to try to help Killian."

The other sheriff looked at his daughter worryingly before he turned back to Snow and Regina again while he continued, "James and I fought. But he had Hook's skills as well as his own to fight me with and I lost. He would have killed me."

Belle gently laid her hand over Emma's arm to try to offer her comfort and looked at her apologetically before she finally walked on ahead so she could go speak with Gold inside his shop, then Blue quietly added, "I arrived with Grumpy, Happy, Doc, and Sneezy just in time to stop him from doing so. I knocked him and the Evil Queen back, then they disappeared before we could do anything more."

"But not before the Evil Queen finally revealed what she wanted from Emma," David responded again out of worry when he and Snow looked over at their daughter as she finally lifted her head and teary eyes to look at them as well.

"Well… what does she really want?" Regina asked quizzically when silence fell over them for several moments while the Charmings just continued to stare at each other.

Charming turned to face her, then Snow when he finally replied, "She wants Emma to give up her powers to save Hook. Like Zelena tricked Hook into swearing his love for her on Emma's name… that's how she wants our daughter to lose them again too."

Snow looked at her daughter again sadly as she whispered, "Oh, Emma… I'm so… so sorry. But we're going to help Hook and stop the Evil Queen so that you won't have to. You believe that, don't you?"

"Emma… are you…" her father started to question her upon seeing her eyes turn cold until she just turned away and started walking in the opposite direction towards hers and Killian's home, while only David and Snow continued to walk with her, as the others followed far behind them so they weren't eavesdropping on the rest of the conversation they knew Emma preferred to keep between herself and her parents.

"Don't ask me if I'm okay right now," she coldly answered him, once again without looking back at either one of them. "Because the answer's no. I'm not, and I'm sure you can imagine that I'm not. Neither one of you would be okay right now if it was who you loved in danger from being snuffed out by the mindless souls trapped inside of their body. The Evil Queen is hurting Killian in order to force me to give up being the Savior. I should have known it's what she wanted after what happened yesterday with Ashley and her family. She used them to try to make me lose faith in myself. To try to get me to feel weak. But Killian and Henry helped me get through it. Reminded me I was strong. Like they've always done. Like… Killian's always done."

Her mother sadly responded, "You're right, Emma. Your father and I can only imagine how much this hurts. How much pain you're in because the man you love is suffering. But you know that you can't give up..."

All of a sudden, she retorted angrily, "I told her no, didn't I? I didn't give into what she wanted and because I refused her, Killian is still suffering because of me."

"I was only trying to say that you can't give up hope that we will save him," Snow replied softly when she reached out to pull her daughter around to face her once they stopped walking again.

"I'm… I'm sorry," Emma answered in sincerity when her eyes softened upon looking between her parents. "I am. I know, I shouldn't act like I'm angry with you. Because really I'm not. I know that I can't sacrifice being the Savior, even for Killian. Nor do I want to give up who I am like I thought I wanted before. Besides… the Evil Queen has no intention of honoring her deal had I agreed."

David looked at her with surprise as he asked, "What do you mean?"

The Savior released a sigh, then responded worryingly, "My superpower kicked in. She was lying. She would have used Killian to kill me the moment my magic left my body. And then she would have killed him. That's what she's really after. I know refusing her was the right decision, but making it doesn't make me feel any better."

"No… but thwarting the Evil Queen's plan by saving Killian and remaining the Savior will," her mother said again with confidence and then pulled her daughter into a hug. "And that's exactly what we'll do, Emma. As for Killian… he knows you're fighting for him. And you know he won't give up hope that you'll save him either. You both just moved in together and after coming back from the Underworld… He isn't going to make it easy for the Evil Queen, or for the souls trapped inside of him to send him back there."

"Thank you, Mom," Emma whispered, as David joined in their embrace.


	19. Chapter 19

Ghosts of a Chance

Chapter Nineteen

When Emma finally pulled back from her parents' embrace, she looked over at their friends waiting a few feet away, then walked back to them again and took charge of the situation as she spoke to Blue, Mr. Smee, and the dwarfs sternly saying, "I need each of you to set up a search party for Hook, all throughout Storybrooke. Search the harbor, the beach, Zelena's farmhouse, and within the woods surrounding us. If you find him again, call me right away. But don't try confronting him, especially not on your own. Try not to let him… or the ghosts inside of him know you're nearby if you do find him. We need to detain them so they can't hurt anyone else, or Killian either, and to do that… to do that we somehow need to detain Killian somewhere where the Evil Queen can't break him out. Please…"

Hook's first mate looked at the woman in love with his Captain, then looked around at his friends who all nodded their heads, then finally turned back to Emma again while he responded assuredly, "We'll do whatever we can to help Hook, Miss. Swan. He's my closest friend and has been for a long time."

"We and Hook ain't ever been too friendly on the best of days, but he is still a friend to us too," Grumpy added in agreement with Smee, while he faced the Savior sympathetically as well. "We'll find him, Sister."

"Thank you," Emma answered in sincerity while she kept her eyes between all those surrounding her, just as her phone then rang and upon seeing it was Henry on the other end, she motioned for everyone to split up to do whatever they needed to do to find Killian.

David, Snow, and Regina stayed behind with her while Emma answered her phone stating, "Hey, Kid. Is everything all right?"

At the Tillmans' home…

The teenager and Author walked outside away from his friends to make a call to his mother so he could check in on his family as he replied, "Yeah. I'm fine. I'm having fun baking goodies with Hansel and Gretel for tonight's Halloween movie-thon. I'll be sure to save some for you and Hook. Mom too. Oh… and we've invited most of the kids in our classes and pretty much throughout Storybrooke to join us too. Not the younger ones of course, but…"

"That's good," his mother responded after Henry cut himself off. "I'm glad you're having fun. Is there anything you needed? Or did you just want to check in on us?"

"I want to know what's going on," he answered truthfully. "This morning, Mom was pretty worried when she received a text from someone. And after what happened last night with Killian being attacked by Hyde… Is he okay?"

The Savior let out a worried sigh and then she spoke again quietly saying, "Actually… he isn't. He's…"

When Henry saw Killian appear around a corner and start to walk down the street towards him, he kept his eyes on his friend while he suddenly interrupted her, "He's here. He looks okay."

"Henry… he isn't Killian right now," Emma immediately called to her son worryingly, as Regina and her parents moved closer to her upon hearing the frantic tone in her voice and seeing the fear in her eyes while she called out to her son warningly, until the phone on the other end of the line suddenly cut out. "Henry… Henry? Henry!"

"Emma… what's wrong?" Regina asked her friend fearfully. "What's happened to Henry?"

She looked between them as she replied curtly, "Hook's with Henry. We have to get over to the Tillmans' house. Now!"

Back between Henry and Killian…

The young Author heard his mother try to warn him something was wrong with the man who had come to love her and became a father figure to him. However, before she could warn him what it was, Hook walked up to him and swiftly snatched the phone from his hand, then smashed it when he suddenly threw it against the ground.

Henry took several steps away from him in concern while he said nervously, "Why did you do that? You're not… Hook. Mom said something was wrong… wrong with you. What is it?"

"She's right," one of the souls within the Captain responded, while he looked smugly at the boy. "I'm afraid something is wrong, but not in a way you can imagine. I know I look and sound like that pirate you've come to be so close to, though I can't imagine why… because I'm trapped inside of his body, but I assure you that I'm nothing like him."

"What, or who are you?" the teenager asked sternly while he kept his eyes trained on his friend's face, trying to remain a few steps away from him though Hook kept walking with him.

The ghost smiled cruelly and then answered, "The boy who lived in Neverland, until my own son killed me, then forced my soul into that Green River down in the Underworld just like he did to his ex wife too."

Henry glared at him as he replied, "Pan. How… how is this even possible?"

"Everyone keeps on asking us that and I really, really don't have the time to explain this all to you," the demon child snidely responded to him, then reached out and grabbed ahold of him, keeping a firm grasp on him despite the boy's struggle against him. "We have to get going now, Henry. But don't worry… I've been given strict orders not to harm you. You're only needed as a distraction."

Meanwhile…

Belle walked inside her husband's shop and saw him reading up on something in one of his books as he stood behind the back counter. When she entered, Gold looked up at her in surprise. At first… neither one of them spoke until the beauty walked up to the glass case and was standing in front of him.

"I know that you and I are… Well, I'm not really sure what we are right now to be honest," she began while she kept her eyes on him sternly. "I know that you're not happy with me for leaving you and putting our relationship on pause, but we need your help, Rumple. I need your help. Killian's in trouble. He's been possessed by souls from the Underworld and they're all trying to harm those who put them into the River of Lost Souls. Gaston is one of them. Which means…"

The Dark One finally cut in as he finished for her, "Which means that your former lover and possibly some of the others will be making their way here to try to take their revenge out on me. On us. I know. I've already been warned. I promise you, I will protect you and our son, but like I told Snow White and Her Majesty… I don't care at all about what happens to the Savior's pirate. I won't help you or the Savior save him."

Belle shook her head in disappointment, but before she could retort, the Evil Queen walked out from the back room while she spoke smugly saying, "You two are both nothing if not predictable. I knew Belle would come here seeking her estranged husband's help to save one of her closest friends."

"What do you want now?" Gold questioned her angrily. "I'm in no mood to help you anymore than I already have. I have work to do and everyone here is keeping me from it. I'm growing tired of all your constant interruptions."

"Wait… you're helping her?" the beauty asked the man she still loved sadly despite the strain that had fallen between them. "Why, Rumple? It's one thing for you to be angry with me and to continue to hate my friends, but to help the Evil Queen? She's as much your enemy as Hook, or Emma, or Regina… or everyone else for that matter."

The villainess answered before he could, "To be fair… he didn't know what it was he was helping me with at the time. But he did enjoy watching me follow through with my plan and didn't lift a finger to stop me then either. However, none of this is why I'm here and I really don't care to take the time to explain. Right now, the heroes are distracted and will be for some time. I'm here to help the souls inside Hook get what they want… so that I can get what I want."

Before either Gold or Belle could question what she meant, or could do anything to try to stop her, the Evil Queen suddenly blew a blow dart into the Dark One's neck to render him unconscious while the red haired woman stared at her in shock, then she asked fearfully, "What have you done? How… How did you…?"

"Dreamshade," the other woman haughtily replied, lifting the tube she used to shoot the dart into her husband to show it to her and then used her magic to conjure up a dampening cuff around his wrist. "From the Captain's ship. If the Dark One was powerless… at least mortal, it would be more fatal to him. Thankfully, he's not and therefore, the poison is only powerful enough to keep him unconscious for a bit. The three of us are going to go for a little trip. And while Rumplestiltskin can't be killed, we knew the best way to make him pay is for him to watch the only person he loves suffer. You really should have listened to your father and everyone else who ever warned you that loving the Dark One was a really bad idea."

"No…" Belle cried out, when all of a sudden, the Evil Queen used her power to magic them all away from the pawnshop to someplace private, where she and the souls trapped inside of Hook could begin the next part of her plan so they could all get the revenge that they sought against their enemies.


	20. Chapter 20

Ghosts of a Chance

Chapter Twenty

Once again at the Tillmans' house…

After Henry walked outside to make a call to his mom, but didn't come back in a few minutes later like he said he would, Violet walked out along with Hansel and Gretel to find out what was keeping him only to find that their friend was nowhere in sight. They looked all around and called out for him, but when they still didn't see him anywhere, his girlfriend from Camelot pulled out her cell phone so she could call him. However, before she could dial, Emma and her parents, as well as Regina appeared before them.

"Violet… Have you seen Henry, or Hook?" the Savior asked worryingly when she saw her son's friends. "Any of you? Did you see where they might have gone?"

"He came outside to call you," Hansel answered before Violet could. "That's the last time we saw him."

Violet continued, "And we didn't see Hook anywhere."

Upon seeing his children outside speaking with Emma, Regina, Snow, and David when he looked out the window after he came into the kitchen to pull a tray of cupcakes out from the oven, Michael Tillman walked outside as he looked between them while he asked, "Sheriff Swan… Regina… What's wrong? Where's Henry?"

"Those things trapped inside of Hook's body took him," the Mayor replied as her eyes grew cold, then she pulled out her compact mirror from her pantsuit's jacket pocket and used her power in order to try to see where the ghosts took him. "We need to find out where."

"It doesn't make sense," Snow responded worryingly when she thought about what trouble her grandson could be in. "Why would the Evil Queen send Hook… the souls inside of him, after Henry? She said she would never hurt him."

Regina struggled to try to get her mirror magic that wasn't working, to open a window in the glass as she angrily answered, "To hell with what she said! If it meant teaching me a lesson to hurt me… that witch is capable of anything. Just like our mother."

Emma walked over to stand beside her friend and leaned over to look into the mirror while she questioned, "Is it working? Can you see where Henry is?"

"Now I can," the dark haired woman replied as Emma laid her hand over Regina's arm and helped to strengthen her power somehow being blocked by the Queen's doppelganger despite the increase of power all throughout Storybrooke. "Thank you, Miss. Swan. Come on… I know where they are. At least where Henry is. They're at the stable. But I don't see Hook there with him any longer."

"We'll find him," the Savior responded, with more confidence in her voice than with what she actually felt. "After we save Henry."

In the meantime…

Once Pan inside Hook's body dragged Henry inside the stables where the Evil Queen ordered him to take the boy, he shoved his captive down to the ground in front of him, then picked up the ropes laying out over the door of one of the stalls, then with extra effort on account of him only having one hand to use to do so with, he began to tie Henry up with it until he finally finished.

The teenager glared up at him, trying to remember it was actually Pan and not the man whose eyes were looking back at him, with a smug grin on his face, and struggled against his bonds as he spoke crossly saying, "These ropes aren't going to keep me tied up for long. Hook showed me every kind of knot you could have possibly tied. And how to get out of them. He can get out of any knot or cuffs."

The demon child chortled through Killian and then he answered, "I know, Henry. And I don't even have to be trapped inside of his body to know that. He lived in Neverland for over two hundred years. Don't you realize I know the Captain better than anyone else? Besides… I'm not just inside his body, but I'm in his mind too. I know everything he does. We all do. Which is why your mother… Oh… I mean, the Evil Queen… gave me these enchanted ropes. Try to break free all you like. They'll only keep retying around you and will grow tighter the more you fight against them."

"Who's 'we'?" Henry asked again worryingly once he finally finished, then stood over him. "And why are you doing this? How?"

"There you go with so many questions again," Pan snidely replied to him. "But in answer to your first one… There are three more of us in here. My son's ex wife and Hook's former lover… Milah, my son's wife's former lover… Gaston, and David's twin brother… James. And as for how… you already know the Evil Queen and Hyde are the ones who made this possible and she's making it possible for us to have our revenge against those who made us what we've become. Mindless tormented husks, just like Killian told you Hades had said to him, upon his return from the Underworld. Alive and well."

The Author nodded as he slowly began to understand, then he responded, "Which is why I'm here to serve as a distraction. To keep my moms and grandparents from trying to help someone aside from Killian. Either Gold, Belle, or… or my grandpa. David… I mean. They will stop you. Just leave Killian and do whatever you want to do without him! Why did you force yourselves inside of him? He didn't make you this way!"

Pan glared down at him again while he answered darkly, "He didn't, but we don't have a choice. The Evil Queen tethered us to his hook and ordered us to torment the pirate captain. To destroy him. And this was the way to do it."

"We can't harm you…" the villain added cruelly, until the Evil Queen appeared beside him again with Killian's hook in hand as she raised again to begin to burn them from the inside out like she did before, causing Hook to fall to his knees on the ground when they all began to scream out in anguish like they did outside of Zelena's farmhouse.

"Stop!" Henry cried out to her in fear that was meant for Killian and not so much the others, while he looked between his friend in pain and the woman hurting him. "What are you doing? Please… don't hurt Killian!"

The Evil Queen lessened their pain a little. However, she didn't stop all together, as Hook's body began to writhe weakly on the ground while he whimpered still in pain. She then walked around him and knelt in front of her son and he looked pleadingly into her eyes as she looked into his.

She finally spoke quietly, almost sympathetically if it weren't for him knowing his adopted mother's doppelganger was incapable of such a feeling, saying, "I'm afraid Pan was getting dangerously close to defying my orders not to harm you. I didn't bring you here to be hurt, Henry."

Her son shook his head and then replied, "But don't you see? You are hurting me because you're torturing my friend and the man my mother loves. Please… stop whatever you're doing to him. To all of them. They don't deserve this either. The River of Lost Souls has tormented them enough."

"Very well," the Evil Queen responded in frustration as she rolled her eyes when she finally stopped their torture like Henry asked of her. "Pan tricked you into ripping your own heart out, tried to rip away your shadow from your body, then even switched bodies with you so he could enact his curse over you and all your loved ones. And yet you still protect him. I won't ever understand that about you, Henry. I still need them anyways. Which is why I'm afraid we have to go and leave you here alone, all tied up like this. But Emma, Regina, and your grandparents will all be here soon to free you. Eventually they'll be able to, but my enchantment over these ropes around you are a bit stronger than my usual magic thanks to what today is. Their powers are stronger too of course, but… they're going to have to find the right spell and strength needed to break the enchantment. It might be awhile yet before you're freed I'm afraid. I'm sorry, Henry. That I had to use you like this against them. But I need time. Try not to worry so much. You're going to be perfectly fine. I promised you that I would never harm you and I really meant it. You are my son… no matter how much you want to deny it. I need your other mothers and the Charmings distracted so that I can do what I need to do to get what I want. Oh… and I have a message for you to give to Emma. Tell her she has until midnight tonight to give up her powers if she truly wants to save her pirate's life. She knows what's needed from her in order to do so. If she continues to refuse me…"

"She won't have to give up her powers to you to save him," Henry retorted while she stood up again and took a few steps back, as did Hook very weakly, then the villainess magicked both herself and the Captain away as he continued to struggled against his bindings and to shout out at her. "She will stop you! Just like she did yesterday! Let Killian go!"


	21. Chapter 21

Ghosts of a Chance

Chapter Twenty-One

Henry continued to struggle against the ropes tied around him, knowing he had to so he could run to warn his family that Gold and Belle were in trouble, and to tell his mother about the Evil Queen's message to her about Killian. He didn't want to tell her about how the villainess had tortured the Captain knowing how much hearing so would hurt her, but the Author suspected that she already knew the man she loved was in a lot of pain as it was. Thankfully, Henry didn't have to struggle long after the Evil Queen vanished with Hook, when Emma, Regina, and his grandparents all came running into the stables calling out his name in worry upon learning where he had been taken to.

It was his birth mother's voice he heard first as she cried out, "Henry?"

Regina's sounded next as she too shouted fearfully, "Henry! Where are you?"

"In the far stall on your right!" their teenager immediately called back to them, then let out a huge sigh of relief when everyone ran into the stall where the ghosts in Hook left him and his mothers immediately began to untie the ropes, only to discover right away they had been enchanted. "You can't just untie these ropes or cut through them. They only get tighter the more you do."

"We'll get you out of here, I promise," Emma replied sadly, as she reached up to caress her son's cheek, while Regina elicited her magic to try to break through the enchantment over his bonds.

Henry smiled at her, but then spoke again sternly saying, "This is going to take a lot of time. Time… you don't have. The Evil Queen and the souls inside of Hook are going after Belle and Gold, if they haven't already captured them. Gold's the Dark One and can't be killed, but they can hurt Belle. And by doing that, they'll hurt Gold too. And Killian's in a lot of trouble too. You need to go. Find them. I'll be fine. The Evil Queen has no intention of hurting me. I'm here only to keep you all from finding them."

The Mayor stopped working for a moment and shook her head in frustration, then looked up into her son's eyes while she responded, "We're not all going to leave you, Henry."

"But you should go, Emma," Regina continued, as she turned her head to look over at the Savior kneeling in front of their son beside her. "Snow and I can take care of Henry. You and David should go find Hook and the Evil Queen. If they do have Gold…"

"We don't even know where they are," Emma interrupted her crossly. "We tried using your mirror magic to find Killian too, but your doppelganger's found a way to block us from seeing her and him using any kind of magic to track them."

David's phone rang and he reached down to pull it out from his pants pocket and saw who it was, then stated, "Thankfully, we can still track them through normal means and it looks like Grumpy might have done just that."

When he answered his phone, the Prince spoke into it as he questioningly called out to him, "Leroy… tell me you've found Hook?"

In the middle of the woods…

"Oh… we've found him all right," the dwarf answered quietly, while he and those with him kept down and far enough back from their friend like Emma had told them to do to avoid being seen. "And the Evil Queen too, but they've taken Belle and Gold as their prisoners. I'm here with Dopey and Mr. Smee, but we won't stand a chance against them. You've got to get here quick, brother."

"Where's here, Grumpy?" the sheriff along with his daughter asked again. "Where are you?"

Grumpy kept his eyes on Hook and the Evil Queen as he replied, "We're where the old well is. Out in the woods. Her Majesty has Gold strung up by his arms just over the well's opening, while they have Belle tied up to a tree nearby. They must have done something to the Dark One's magic. He's awake, but he ain't fighting back. You'd better hurry. Whatever they have planned, they're about to begin."

David let out a sigh and then responded, "We'll be there. Stay low and out of sight. Do not try to engage them. Thanks, Grumpy."

"You're welcome," the dwarf answered him grumpily and hung up, as did the Prince who then turned his attention back on his family.

Back in the stables…

"We need to get going," Charming said again in concern. "Henry's right that they've got Gold and Belle. And Gold's been rendered powerless. The Queen must have placed a dampening cuff on his wrist, or… something."

Snow nodded at her husband and their daughter, then Regina replied, "Go… go. Snow and I will catch up to you as soon as we can. Just be… careful."

Emma looked at Henry worryingly again as she kept a firm hand over his chest and whispered, "You're going to be okay, Kid. But when you are, I need you to promise me you'll go back to the Tillmans' to stay with your friends. I want you to have fun tonight, but more importantly to be safe. You will be now. I promise you… I will call you as soon as we save Killian, Belle, and Gold. Do you hear me?"

"Yes… I promise," her son sincerely responded once Regina continued again to try to break him free from the ropes. "But Mom, before you go… the Evil Queen told me to give you a message. She said that you have until midnight to give up your powers to her. Or… or Killian's going to… I know you can save him without giving up your magic. You're strong and you have everyone's support. Please… please don't give into her."

"I don't plan to, Henry," she answered him assuredly, then finally stood up again with her father's help and together, they ran from the stables towards the woods while Regina and Snow stayed behind with Henry.

Unfortunately, the Savior and the Prince suddenly stopped short not far from the stables when Mr. Hyde walked up on them and stood in their way as he spoke sternly saying, "I can't let you run off to try to help your pirate just yet, Savior. Her Majesty has asked me to come speak with you about the deal she's offered you. She's given me a trinket that will allow me to curse you for her, which will allow you to give him true love's kiss that will strip you of your magic should you agree to swear your love for the pirate on his name. What do you say, Savior? Will you accept this one chance to save your love and to spare him anymore pain?"

Emma looked at the monster in front of her and her father, as she shook her head sadly before she sadly replied, "I do love him. More than I have ever loved any man who's come into my life. But I won't give into the Evil Queen's demands. Killian wouldn't want me to and I made a promise to my son that I wouldn't sacrifice who I am. I am the Savior. I love being the Savior and I can't risk everyone else who I love just to save one man, no matter how much I'm afraid my decision might cost him. So… you can go back to Her Majesty and tell her that I decline. Like I did this afternoon. Or better yet, I'll just tell her myself when I see her. Now get out of our way."

"She will be quite disappointed indeed, though your decision and your conviction doesn't at all surprise me," Hyde smugly responded, as he pulled his baton charged with electricity out from his belt behind his back and was about to use it against the Savior and her father, until Emma immediately used her magic to rip it from his hands while she drew it into David's hands instead, then the Prince swiftly fired the weapon to render Mr. Hyde unconscious.

"Emma… that was… amazing!" her father stated upon being quite impressed by what his daughter had just done.

She smiled at him and nodded while she answered, "Thanks. I was only thinking about getting to Killian. We can't wait any longer. So, come on. Let's get out of here."

Meanwhile, back in the woods surrounding the old well containing waters from Lake Nostos…

Grumpy, Dopey, and Smee kept to their word that they would remain out of sight and keep watch until Emma and David arrived, while the Evil Queen and Hook stood between their captives who remained tied up. Gold with his arms stretched above him while he hung down just above the well's opening. And Belle, who had been bound to a tree closest to the well.

The Dark One glared down at the villainess and his centuries old enemy as he said darkly, "So… exactly what is it that you and the mindless souls trapped in Hook's body have planned for us, Your Majesty? I may be unable to use my magic to break us free, but you know that if you harm Belle and our child in any way…"

"I gave you my word that I wouldn't lay a finger on your beloved, Gold," the villainess replied to him snidely. "And I haven't. But I just can't make promises that Hook here won't. Or at least… that the ghosts from the Underworld won't that is. Because your father, your wife, and Gaston all really want their own revenge against you. And since you can't die…"

"Enough talking," Milah finally interrupted her when she began to speak through Killian upon taking over their control of him, then stepped forward so that she was standing directly in front of the man she was once married to a long, long time ago until he murdered her. "Hello again, Rumple. It may be hard for you to tell, seeing as I sound like Killian, but it's me… your wife. You still look the same as you ever did. Except for when I saw you as the Dark One. Putrid green and sparkly scale like skin and all. Just like a crocodile. And you're still a coward."

He glared at her despite it being Hook's face before him while he coldly responded, "If I was able to use my power… I would show you just how much of a coward I am. Leave Belle alone and torture me all you like. Because if you don't… If you don't, then when I do break free I promise you that you will be begging me to return you to the River of Lost Souls all over again instead of what I plan to do to you."

After Milah lowered Hook's head against his chest momentarily, he raised it again as Gaston spoke out instead as he answered, "You may feel pain, but torture isn't good enough for the likes of you. And it was Belle who forced me into that river, not you… Dark One."

"Gaston… Gaston, please don't do this," the beauty pleaded with him upon recognizing who was now talking through Killian again. "I beg of you. I am so, so sorry for what happened to you. I didn't mean to push you into the river. I didn't want…"

"It doesn't matter to me anymore what you wanted, Belle," the conceited hunter replied cruelly when he cut her off. "The moment you told me that you married this beast… it was the moment I stopped caring about you in even the slightest way. A part of me still loved you back when I first saw you down in the Underworld. But because you chose a monster like him over me, all that changed. And now you both will pay for destroying me."

Finally, the Evil Queen uttered in frustration, "Enough talk. Let's get on with the pain before the heroes show their faces. Them trying to free Henry will only take so long, so our time here is precious. How do you want to proceed?"

When Peter Pan then began to speak through Hook as well, the demon child knelt down as he pulled a tall, yet thin ceramic jar from the Captain's inside coat pocket and laid it on the ground in front of him between him and Belle, then darkly responded, "I say we begin with this… something I found down in the Queen's vault. I hope you don't mind I borrowed it, Your Majesty?"

"Under the circumstances, I don't," she answered with a grin.

"What is that?" Belle asked fearfully, while she kept her eyes down on the jar as Pan reached down to pull out its stopper in order to be able to release whatever was inside it.

The Evil Queen watched as a silvery fog suddenly began to pour out from it towards Rumple's wife and she replied, "A gift that was given to me from another witch I met a long time ago… before I used her to help me cast my dark curse with a strand of her hair, and then I turned her into a stone statue. Just like I did to all the rest who were with me that night. Just like what your enemies are about to do to you now thanks to this fog."

She laughed cruelly as the Dark One struggled to break himself free while he fearfully cried out, "No! Belle… Don't worry… I can restore you. I will. I promise you I will. I'm so sorry, Belle."

"Maybe," Pan responded to his son while the fog slowly rose up and surrounded the beauty, as it hardened her skin when her flesh began to turn into stone, causing her to cry out in pain from the magic's progression. "But not tonight you won't. And not if I choose to turn you into stone like your lovely wife too."

"Go ahead and try," Gold retorted angrily once the magic at last finished its work when Belle's body became solid stone, cutting off her screams once it did so.

When the fog returned to its jar and Pan immediately placed its stopped back on to keep it inside, he stood tall again and turned to face Rumplestiltskin, only once again it was his wife speaking as she stated, "No… I have something else in mind for you, dear husband. You can feel pain like anyone else. And I swear to you… you will feel it."

However, before Milah or any of the other souls could continue to harm either of their captives, Emma and David suddenly appeared, along with Grumpy, Dopey, and Smee who all immediately ran out from their cover to join their friends as the Savior shouted, "Stop!"

"My God… is that Belle?" the Prince asked worryingly when he saw the statue bound to the tree.

"It sure is," Smee answered worryingly as he looked over at the young woman he had come to be friends with despite their first meeting when he had once kidnapped her for her father, then nearly sent her over the town line to make her lose her memories. "If we could have helped her…"

David shook his head when he looked at him and the dwarfs while he replied, "You wouldn't have been able to do anything. The Evil Queen might have killed you if you tried to interfere."

The villainess smiled at him as she responded, "Which is what I should do to you for the same thing."

"But you won't," Emma retorted, and quickly used her magic to teleport Gold free from his bonds, then when he reappeared right beside her, she quickly ripped off the cuff so that his own magic was restored. "Gold… get the hell out of here and bring Belle back to your shop so you can do whatever you can for her. Save her."

"How noble of you, Miss. Swan," the Evil Queen sneered as she faced the Savior, her father, and their friends once Gold vanished with his wife, while the evils within Hook did the same. "We knew you'd show up soon enough. And from the defiance I see in your eyes as well as your anger, I'm guessing you still refused my deal when Hyde came to you with a way to curse your lips?"

Emma and David looked between the villainess and the man she loved in worry, then she glared at the Evil Queen as she answered, "You already know my answer. I won't do it. You've given me plenty of warnings. Now I'm giving you one. Let Killian go. Untether the souls from his hook so I can free him, or so help me…"

Regina's doppelganger spoke cruelly saying, "Your pirate's life belongs to me, Savior."


	22. Chapter 22

Ghosts of a Chance

Chapter Twenty-Two

"You had your chance to save him, Emma," the Evil Queen said to her cruelly, while the heroes and villains continued to face off against each other. "Too many chances, and yet you refuse to do right by him. So his death will be on you. Not on me. Are you really prepared for this fight? Or are your tremors going to be getting in the way again? Like they've been doing practically every time you try to heal those you fight to save."

"You tried to make me feel weak yesterday, Your Majesty," the Savior steadfastly responded. "But Killian and Henry both reminded me how strong I really am, and they were right. My love for them… for all of those I love, and their love for me is why I have the courage and the strength to remain the Savior. To always stand up against villains like you. If you insist on a fight, then bring it, Queenie."

Through Hook, Milah spoke again angrily saying, "Let me kill her for you. She doesn't have the courage to hurt the man she loves. She'll fall at his hands."

The true villainess smiled cruelly at the idea and then she replied, "You're right. I can't kill the Savior using magic thanks to the true love that flows through her. But a mortal blade in the hands of the man she loves most certainly can. Don't fail me this time. And if you succeed, I will give you all whatever you want. Including one final shot at Rumplestiltskin."

"No… Emma!" Charming cried out as he immediately pulled the sword which he kept at his side from when he fought against his brother earlier to try to step in for his daughter after the Evil Queen summoned her father's own sword, which had since been reforged, into Emma's hands for the Savior to use in her battle against Hook, or the souls within his body. "Let me fight."

"It's going to be all right," Emma answered, trying to show as much confidence as she had in her words despite not really feeling the strength she knew was inside of her, while she kept her eyes solely and firmly on the face of her true love. "Neither one of us are going to get hurt."

Yet in the moment she said so, before Milah used Killian to charge at her, flashes of her sword battle against the mysterious figure under the hood suddenly flooded through her mind and for a brief terrifying moment, the Savior feared this might be her final battle, and that Killian was somehow the one destined to kill her, despite her seeing him standing with her family, and even though it wasn't truly the man she loved in control.

When the flashes finally stopped, she immediately snapped out of her fear just as the lost souls within Hook unleashed his battle cry while he attacked Emma fiercely, and she defended herself using the skills Killian had taught her not long after they had started to truly become friends, before she discovered that she was as much in love with him, as he was in love with her.

Their swords continued to clash together as the fight drew itself out. Emma struggled to keep the visions of her prophecy from her mind while they fought, but the longer the battle continued on, the harder it became for her to ignore her fear. However, she held onto the love Killian felt for her, as well as her love for him and in so doing, it allowed for her to keep fighting with as much strength as she felt when she had come up against Cora at Lake Nostos in order to protect her mother from having her heart ripped out, until all of a sudden, she unleashed a powerful pulse of magic from within her to force both Killian and the Evil Queen back through the air to end their battle at last.

David immediately ran over to his daughter again, as did the others now including Snow and Regina, along with the Blue Fairy, who all had joined them during the battle, and they stared ahead of them in shock upon seeing that the Evil Queen and Hook had been rendered unconscious by the blast. However, Emma was the first one to run over to Killian, followed closely by both of her parents while Regina walked past them to look over her evil self to make sure that she was truly out cold, then carefully began to check her for Killian's hook so she wouldn't wake her. Unfortunately, the villainess was smart enough not to actually carry it on her most of the time, though Regina suspected it was someplace she could easily summon it from.

However, as the Savior started to pull the man she loved into her arms to try to awaken him, when he finally did wake, it wasn't Killian who looked up into her eyes or began to speak to her. It was James and he glared up at his brother's daughter coldly, then struggled to shove her away from him. Emma's power not only had rendered him briefly unconscious, but also weak so it wasn't easy for him to crawl back against the tree behind him to try to get away from the heroes.

David's twin began to laugh and then finally he stated, "Hello again, David. Did you miss me? And hello to you too, Emma. You haven't won yet. We're all still in here with your pirate and he's barely holding on."

Emma remained on her knees on the ground in front of him, as did Snow and the good Prince, then she looked deep into Killian's eyes while she pleaded, "Please… let me speak to him then. If he's so weak, he isn't a threat to you. So what's the harm in letting him through just for a few moments? Or are you really not as tough as you think you are? Afraid you won't be able to take back control?"

James glared at her darkly, until he finally closed his eyes and lowered his head to his chest. Nearly a minute passed before one of the souls within Killian finally lifted his head again and when he spoke, Emma at last heard Killian's voice and saw through his eyes that it truly was her true love who broke back to the surface.

"Em… Emma," he whispered, so very weakly and the Savior immediately moved as close to him as she could while she remained kneeling in front of him too, then laid both of her hands against the sides of his face and smiled when tears began to fall. "You're so… so beautiful. And amazing. I'm here, but… I'm not sure for how long. They're too stro… strong."

"I need you to hold on for as long as you can," she pleadingly responded to him, then released hold of one side of his face so she could reached down to take his only hand into her own and squeezed it tightly to help give him some of her own strength. "I'm going to free you. I promise."

The Savior quickly lifted her head to look up at Regina, who stood up over her doppelganger and quickly called out, "Regina! Do you have his hook?"

The good Queen looked down at her friend sadly as she replied, "It's not on her. I'm so sorry."

"We have to find it," Emma said in frustration as she thought about where the Evil Queen might be keeping it.

"I can… can't hold on," Killian whispered again, then gasped as a wave of pain washed over him again. "They're fighting… for control again. Emma… rip out… rip out my heart."

The woman who loved him looked at him in fear while she uttered, "What? No. No, I won't do that. Why would you ask me to do that to you?"

He cried out again, then with complete faith in her to be able to do what was needed of her, he looked deep into her eyes again sadly while he answered, "Because… if you have control of my heart… my heart… you'll have some con… control over me too. You can order me to push down this pain… enough so I can fight back again… against them. And against the Evil Queen. I can't without… you."

"You told me how much it killed you when Gold held you under his control and how much you hate being used by anyone," she responded fearfully, while she tightened her grip around his hand when she felt him growing weaker. "I don't ever want to do it to you again. Not like I did when I turned you into the Dark One. I can't, Killian."

"I'm already under the Queen's control, Emma," Killian continued weakly, as he slowly began to lose consciousness. "If you want to… to save me, then please… I believe in you. Like I… always have."

When his head lolled weakly to his side and his eyes closed, Emma struggled to awaken him again as she pleaded, "Killian? Killian, please… Come back to me."

However, he didn't. So Emma turned her head to look over at her mother and father when they knelt down on the ground on both sides of her, as Snow gently laid her hand over her back while David laid his hand on the back of her head to help give her the confidence she needed to do like Killian asked of her. At last, the Savior released her hold of his hand and lifted her own to his chest. Unfortunately, her hand suddenly began to shake again like it did whenever she struggled with finding her strength amidst her fear. She slowly breathed in and out to try to calm herself, and when she finally regained control of the tremors, Emma swiftly thrust her hand into Killian's chest, then ripped out his heart. It was also then that the Evil Queen had come to and suddenly used her own power to blast Regina back through the air this time upon catching her other self completely unaware.

Snow worryingly cried out, "Regina!"

"Relax," the villainess stated coldly once she swiftly immobilized everyone except for Emma, whose back was to her even when she turned her head in order to look up at the Evil Queen, and therefore she couldn't see that the Savior was now holding Killian's heart in her hands. "Her Majesty's just fine. So… Emma. I've got to give you kudos. I've underestimated your strength again, just like I did yesterday. You packed a hell of a punch. But you knocked lover boy out cold too. How much more can he take before he's snuffed out once and for all?"

"A hell of a lot more than you think he can," the Savior steadfastly replied when she rose from the ground and turned around to face off again against the Evil Queen, revealing the heart in her hands to her as Emma raised it to her mouth, looked down at the man she loved again, and gave Killian his order he had asked her to give him. "Killian… I know you're in there still fighting with everything you have. Push down your pain and fight back against them. Make them weak and push them out. I believe in you too."

Inside Killian's mind once more…

The Captain remained bound to the main mast aboard his ship with his arms stretched high and tightly above his head. However, upon hearing Emma's voice as she demanded he take back control and push his tormentors out of his mind and body, a newfound surge of strength rose within him and the ropes binding him fell away as if Emma had freed him herself. After all… they were inside of his mind, so the laws of nature held no bounds and anything was possible.

Pan was the first of the mindless souls to speak while Killian stood tall and looked between him and the others, as he voiced darkly, "This isn't possible. You can't… You don't have power."

The pirate in love with the Savior picked up his fallen sword from the deck and lifted it in front of him while he answered, "You're right. I don't have power, but I have Emma's strength she's given to me. She has my heart and therefore… the control is mine."

"You'll have to fight us for it," James retorted, as he pulled his own sword too, then suddenly began to fight the pirate.

Pan, Gaston, and Milah all picked up swords from the chest where they were kept as well, then together the four souls from the Underworld all fought in a figurative battle against Killian for control over his mind and body once again. Killian's newfound strength shouldn't have been possible and yet he was somehow eventually able to thrust his cutlass through each of their chests to expel them from his body… all except for Pan, whose soul remained.

"It looks like it's just you and me now, Killian," the boy cruelly uttered as they stared coldly at one another. "You won't defeat me."


	23. Chapter 23

Ghosts of a Chance

Chapter Twenty-Three

Inside Gold's Pawnshop…

When he appeared back within the safety of his own lair of sorts, with Belle after he magicked them both away, the Dark One immediately began to search his potions and books for any way he could find to free the woman he loved from her prison inside of the stone her body had now become. His power alone wasn't enough, even with the power he wielded from his dagger. But he loved Belle and their son, and he promised his wife that he would restore her no matter what it took for him to do so.

Finally, after he had looked through several of his books for an answer to do so, he discovered the origin of the Evil Queen's magic. The mysterious fog contained within the ceramic jar with the power to turn anyone into stone, came from the blood of Medusa whom Gold learned long ago had been defeated and turned to stone herself by Snow White when she and Prince Charming fought the gorgon. What he didn't know until now, was that Regina must have entered the monster's lair once the Charmings left in order to extract her blood from the stone statue she became in order to create a new weapon against her enemies, never used until now.

Upon remembering that the jar remained on the ground where Pan left it after he rose to his feet again to face off against Emma and David when they arrived to help them, the Dark One used his magic to summon it to him, and the jar containing the fog and Medusa's blood appeared on the counter in front of him.

Gold then pulled the topper from the jar to release the fog just as his father had done, but when it rose up in front of him while its power started to flow towards him, he quickly worked to extract the monster's blood he knew remained within the magic until the fog vanished upon being destroyed as it became nothing but blood floating before his eyes.

Once finished, he conjured what remained back inside of the jar, all except for a single drop which Gold then moved through the air until it stopped above Belle's head and he released it over the stone keeping her imprisoned. Within seconds, the gorgon's powerful dark magic over her was also destroyed and Belle was freed as her body once again became flesh and blood.

He cautiously walked around to the other side of the counter where she stood, until the beauty collapsed from the strain and the pain she felt upon becoming stone, and her husband immediately reached out to catch her, then pulled her tightly into his arms to embrace her as he whispered, "It's okay, Belle. You're safe now. I'm so sorry."

For a few moments, Belle allowed him to hold her and she even felt comforted by his first show of real love towards her in some time. However, when she pulled back from him, she shook her head and stepped away as she struggled to come up with the words to share with him how she felt.

She finally answered, "I know that you're sorry, Rumple. I really do. But what happened tonight… It isn't just because of the Evil Queen. It's also because of what you and I did to Gaston when we were trapped down in the Underworld. And what you did to your father and to Milah while you were down there before I was. I heard what they all said to us and to Killian when I was being held prisoner aboard the Jolly Roger earlier. They are angry and a small part of me doesn't blame them fully for what they've done. Thank you for saving me. But I have to go now. I need to see Dr. Whale so that I can make sure our baby's okay too. Prove to me that you love me by showing me the man I fell in love with again. Then, we can finally put the strain between us now, behind us. Goodbye, Rumple."

And with that said, she turned away from him again and walked out of his shop without looking back. Once she was gone, Gold stared coldly at the jar still in front of him when he turned back to the counter, then he suddenly shattered it to pieces by a burst of power out of anger and used his dark magic to absorb the blood into nothing.

Meanwhile…

Dr. Jekyll entered the woods and kept walking until he came upon the dirigible where it crashed down after falling from the sky shortly after Hyde arrived within Storybrooke. He walked over to the equipment not of his own, which he had set up with help from Regina, Snow White, and David the day before and began to continue his work as he sought a way to destroy both his own monster and the Evil Queen in order to prove himself the hero he imagined himself to be, to those from this town.

It was drawing near dark, but there was at least another hour or so before the sun would set down for the night, so he wanted to try to accomplish as much as he could within the time that he had. Unfortunately, an unmistakable voice the doctor knew all too well sounded from behind him a short time later, and Jekyll immediately turned around to come face to face with the monster inside of him.

"Good evening, doctor," his doppelganger said snidely as Jekyll did so.

"Hyde… I should have known you would find me working out here sooner or later," the weaker man responded, trying to act unafraid of the villain, though they both knew he was only fooling himself. "I heard the Evil Queen had freed you from your prison and your shackles last night. What… what do you want?"

Mr. Hyde kept his distance while he replied, "You can relax. I didn't come here to hurt you again. I only wish to talk. Tell me… are you still pretending to act like you're one of these so called heroes running around throughout this town? Because you're not, you know. And you never will be. Sooner or later, they will discover your secret. I doubt you've told them about what happened to Mary."

All of a sudden, Jekyll angrily shouted, "Don't you ever say her name again! You've no right to speak it. It's because of you that she's dead. You took her away from me!"

"You can hide your true self and what really happened to her from everyone around here if you want to," the monster answered callously, as he walked forward and around the table to get a closer look at the doctor's work. "But you can't hide the truth from me. You may have thought you could come here to Storybrooke in order to bury our past so you can keep pretending you're not as much of a monster as I am. However, they will all soon learn the truth because you will eventually reveal it to them for me, without me having to lift so much as a finger to get you to do so. You simply need a little push."

"What are you talking about?" the doctor asked nervously as he took several steps back from him in order to maintain his distance out of fear. "I would never…"

Hyde chortled before his other self could finish, then he responded, "Believe me… you will. And I know just what you need. It would be easy for me to choke the life out of you right here and now. But I plan to make you and the Dark One pay for what you both have done to Mary and me."

He started to turn away as though he were about to leave the weaker man be. And yet, the doppelganger turned back around and suddenly began to smash the equipment Jekyll was using merely with his fists out of rage until there was nothing left of the set up but shattered shards of glass, bent and broken pieces of metal, and spilled potions.

When the monster finally finished, Jekyll glared at him angrily as he cried out, "Why did you do have to do that? All my work…"

"Your work was so you could find a way to destroy me and the Evil Queen once and for all," Mr. Hyde replied to him darkly. "And I cannot allow you to continue it. You won't defeat me, doctor. No one will."

"I won't stop trying," the original being muttered under his breath coldly, as he watched his dark side walk away without so much as another word.


	24. Chapter 24

Ghosts of a Chance

Chapter Twenty-Four

Still inside Killian's mind…

"I am impressed, Killian," Pan taunted him again after they continued to clash their swords together, longer than the Captain had fought against the others who at last left his mind and body upon being forced out by Killian's newfound strength, thanks to Emma who now possessed his heart. "But your strength is dwindling. I can see it in your face. In your eyes. You don't have much time before you collapse again. How long do you really think you can keep fighting me?"

"For as long… as I have to," Killian steadfastly replied upon being shoved back roughly against the planks on the port side of his ship while he kept his sword and false hand risen in front of him in struggle to keep the boy's blade away from his throat, as Peter Pan attempted to run him through. "Why are you so much strong… stronger than the others?"

The demon child in front of him smiled cruelly while he looked into his enemy's eyes and answered, "Because they're no longer inside your body. I no longer have to fight against them for control. Just you. And I will get it back. You're too weak even if Emma does have possession of your heart. Tell me… Did it pain you to run your blade through Milah's chest minutes ago? To rip her from your body? Did you feel yourself killing her all over again… just like Rumplestiltskin did all those years ago? Just before you came back to Neverland and to me seeking revenge against my son? After swearing you would never return after what happened to your dead brother?"

The truth was, it did hurt Killian to force Milah out by running his cutlass through her chest as he had done to do so, but his eyes remained stoic while he kept them on the villain in front of him as he darkly responded, "That thing was no longer Milah. Just like you're no longer the vile demon with whom I spent centuries, doing his dirty work because I had lost sight of the man I truly wanted to be. The woman I loved would never be so cruel."

"I think you're wrong," Pan replied, then Hook suddenly managed to shove him back and immediately stood tall while he continued to face the boy. "Don't you remember how she treated Rumple that day on your ship so long ago, when my son ripped out and crushed her heart right in front of you to kill her? How she spat in his face by telling him cruelly that she was so miserable in their life together because she never loved him? I think I would say that was pretty cruel. She would have hated you that much too if you ever disappointed her like Rumple had. She would have turned on you in a second if she knew a part of you wished to give up a life of piracy to settle down. You looked forward to going back for her boy more than she did. She despised being a mother… as much as you despised yourself."

"That's a lie," Killian answered furiously and swiftly swung his sword towards Pan again to strike against him, though he was effortlessly able to side step it to avoid the blade. "Enough talk! I'm done with your mind games. If you want to fight, then fight me. Let's end this."

Pan grinned and responded darkly, "I couldn't agree more."

The pirate captain and the demon child from Neverland clashed their swords together while their duel continued, until minutes later, when Killian suddenly stumbled back upon feeling his strength weakening far more than before, then before he could stop Pan from doing so, the boy suddenly thrust his sword deep into Killian's stomach, causing the hero to cry out in agony as he faltered and collapsed against the deck of the Jolly Roger. And when Pan pulled his blade back, he began to laugh as he remained standing over him with a cruel smile on his face while Killian struggled to stay alive, stifling his blood now flowing heavily from his wound through his fingers.

Back in the woods surrounding Storybrooke…

The Evil Queen glared darkly at the Savior while she spoke to her pirate through his heart, which she realized Emma had taken while she had briefly been knocked out after Emma's surprise burst in power struck her. Hook remained unconscious against the tree where the woman who loved him had laid him. And from the pain across his face and the sweat gleaming off his body, the villainess could see he was still trapped within the hell the ghosts had trapped his mind in.

Regina's doppelganger spoke snidely saying, "Very clever, Savior. You can give him a command to ignore his pain, and it might help to give him back a little of his strength, but it won't give him enough to be able to force four tormented souls out of his mind and body so long as I still have them tethered to his hook and am in full control of them. I'm guessing Regina tried to search me for his hook while I was out? She failed to find it, didn't she?"

"Where is it?" Emma questioned her in anger, after she looked away from the man she loved, as well as her family and friends to face the villainess before her again. "You no longer have full control over him, and I won't give up my power to you. You've lost."

"Not yet I haven't," the Evil Queen darkly retorted. "Even if I fail to destroy you by ripping your power out in order to un-Savior the Savior and to kill you… at least I'll have the satisfaction knowing that I've weakened you once your beloved pirate is dead. And it won't be long before he can't fight against my pets anymore. His hook isn't far away, but it's where you won't ever think to look for it."

The Evil Queen laughed and was about to unleash her power against Emma again to force her to the ground, until Regina suddenly broke through the villainess' freeze spell, as did the Blue Fairy thanks to their own boost in power given to them through the children's belief in magic and the supernatural on All Hallows' Eve. Together, they attacked her like she planned to do to the Savior. The doppelganger flew back through the air again and crashed into a tree nearby, as both of Emma's friends also with magic ran to stand beside her.

Emma looked between them as she quickly and appreciatively stated, "Thank you."

Blue smiled as she looked over at the Savior and replied, "Of course. But you can thank us later once we've defeated her again and save Hook. Any ideas on how we do that? This battle can't last forever."

The Savior was about to answer her while the Evil Queen struggled to rise up from the ground again as she groaned in frustration at having been forced off her feet once more, when all of a sudden, the souls trapped inside of Killian screeched in anger and pain upon being expelled from his body much to everyone's surprise, including the Evil Queen's, as she let out an angry groan in frustration.

"He did it," Emma whispered, as she smiled upon being proud of the man she loved because he was as strong as she knew him to be, until she fearfully realized that only three of the lost souls left him and that one remained inside. "There's one missing."

"That's not possible," the villainess retorted darkly as she glared up at the ghosts now hovering in the air above their heads waiting for new orders, then she finally gave them. "What the hell are you waiting for? Don't wait for the other one to join you? Finish the pirate off. Kill him!"

The mindless souls from the Underworld screamed as they swiftly flew down so they could attempt to rip their prey apart from the outside, while Pan continued to try to do so from inside of him. However, Emma immediately ran between them and Killian to protect him as she raised a barrier with as much power as she possessed to block and hold them back. Blue and Regina quickly joined her, as the Evil Queen attempted to help the ghosts by using her own magic to break the power barrier down., but then an idea suddenly dawned on Regina upon remembering what her other self had said a few minutes ago.

The good Queen cut off her magic as she quickly turned to Killian and knelt down in front of him, then while she processed her thoughts, she said loud enough for her friends to hear her, "She said his hook wasn't far away, but in a place we wouldn't ever think to look for it. I think she might be wrong about that last part. I just hope I'm right. She would want easy access to it."

Regina reached down to pick up his left arm and waved one of her hands over the Captain's fake one in order to break what she could now sense was a glamor spell over it to conceal that it was truly Killian's hook, which she then carefully unlatched from his brace using her power to do so telekinetically to avoid being burned like David had before, as she spoke again saying, "I've got it."

"Regina!" Emma called out to her, while she and Blue continued to fight against the strain the souls and the villainess kept up against their barrier. "You have to break her spell over it. Hurry!"

"It's going to take me some time to…" her friend answered her, until she looked down at Killian in worry upon seeing blood beginning to soak through his shirt from a wound concealed beneath his clothes, and she quickly pulled back his leather duster and ripped the shirt open to reveal a stab wound in his stomach. "Oh God… Emma, we have another problem. Hook… he's bleeding out. He's been hurt."

All of a sudden, the Evil Queen stopped fighting against the Savior's and fairy's powers and upon her other self becoming distracted for just a moment by the sight of Hook having become wounded in the fight within his mind, she immediately magicked his hook away from her, then commanded the three souls to stop fighting.

The villainess laughed cruelly as Emma saw this and cried out, "No!"

When she and Blue stopped emitting their own magic as well, Regina quickly stood up between them while she glared at her dark side and stated coldly, "I've had enough of this. This ends now. Emma… get Hook to the hospital as quickly as you can, then come back to help me get his hook away from this witch so we can send these monstrosities back to the Underworld where they belong."

Emma looked at her as she nodded, then immediately stepped away so she could kneel down in front of the man she loved again and laid her hand over his chest before she magicked them, as well as her parents from the battle to the hospital like Regina suggested she do for Killian. The villainess' spell over the Charmings' broke at last once she did so, and they looked around them in surprise upon at last being freed, then rushed forward to try to help their daughter with the man she loved upon seeing he was bleeding out.

When the heroes suddenly appeared in the corridor within a silvery cloud of smoke while the Savior knelt over the Captain, Whale saw them and ran over to them as well and they all carefully lifted Hook from the floor so they could rush him over to a bed where the doctor could begin to help him.

"What happened?" he asked in concern for the injured man when he quickly glanced up at Emma, as he ripped the shirt covering the wound further away, then began to pull off his jacket with David's and Snow's help to clear his way to the wound so he could treat it. "From the size of the injury, I see he was stabbed?"

"I don't care what you have to do," the Savior curtly responded in demand before she pushed Killian's heart back into his chest where it belonged after summoning it back into her hands hoping she wouldn't need to use it to control the man she loved again. "Please, just keep him alive no matter what it takes for you to do so. I have to return to help Regina get back his hook and destroy the spell over it once and for all so we can save him. I'll be back. Whatever it takes, Whale."

Before her parents could try to stop her for a moment, Emma vanished again leaving them behind to help the doctor however they could, as she appeared again between Regina and the Blue Fairy who continued to face off against the Evil Queen while they were busy trying to keep back the tormented souls now trying to attack them on the villainess' orders.

Emma forced one of them back as it suddenly broke through one of Blue's barriers to hurt her, then she said wearily, "Blue… I need you to go to the hospital to help protect Killian and my parents in case any of these things go there to continue to hurt him. Please."

The fairy looked at her friend and nodded, as she replied assuredly, "Of course. You can defeat her Emma. Believe in yourself. You too, Regina. Good luck."

"It's time you accept you've been defeated and give back that hook, Queenie," Regina sternly called out to her doppelganger in frustration once Blue made herself small and quickly flew away to do like Emma asked of her, leaving the former Evil Queen, the three dwarfs, and Mr. Smee behind to help the Savior stand off against the true Evil Queen and the three unknown ghosts once again hovering in the air above them. "Aren't you tired of this battle yet? It's gone on long enough."

"This battle isn't over until I get what I want and Emma hasn't chosen to give up her powers," the villainess crossly replied as she glared at her enemies standing before her. "I still have his hook."

"You wanna bet?" a voice from behind her retorted, and a loud growl sounded when she suddenly fell roughly against the ground upon being struck from behind by Pongo as the dalmatian charged her angrily, causing her to drop Killian's hook in front of her, allowing Emma to immediately summon it to her telekinetically like Regina had done before, then looked where the Evil Queen was standing moments ago to see Archie now standing in front of them along with Pongo, who kept snarling at the threat among them, including at the ghosts.

The villainess glared at the hairy beast, as well as at the psychiatrist when she struggled to sit up, then groaned angrily before she finally vanished within her own purple smoke cloud to escape, knowing she had been beaten despite her best efforts. Emma smiled at Archie, who knelt down to pet his friend to calm him.

The Savior then looked between Killian's hook in front of her and the lost souls as she took control over them like the villainess had done while she commanded, "Whichever one of you are still inside of Killian, get the hell out of him now! I'm going to break the spells over his hook and once I do, you are to return to the River of Lost Souls in the Underworld."

She turned to Regina again as she nodded, then together the two of them emitted their powers together with as much strength as they could muster to break the dark magic embedded within it… the spell which caused them to become burned by its touch, as well as the tethering spell keeping the ghosts bound to it so they could free and save the man Emma loved at last.

As they did so, Pan's soul flew through the trees after his soul was suddenly forced out of Killian's body and swiftly joined with the others like it had been ordered to, then upon being unable to resist the Savior, they suddenly dispelled within bursts of green dust and smoke as their souls were all pulled back down into the Underworld.

The Savior took Killian's hook into her hand, then at last spoke to Archie with genuine gratitude saying, "Thank you, Archie. You helped us save Killian. I… I don't know… Why are you here?"

The doctor looked up at her while he continued to pet Pongo until he rose back to his feet and then answered, "I heard you were all out here in the woods somewhere from some of the other dwarfs who were still looking for Hook. We were out for a walk near the dirigible's crash site when we crossed paths and then before I could stop him, Pongo just… suddenly took off running. I'm guessing because he sensed the danger you were in, or maybe even caught Hook's scent. I don't know. But I followed him and we wound up here."

"I have to get back to him," Emma then said after she nodded her thanks to him again and quickly waved her hand so she could magic herself back to Killian, while Regina quickly followed suit, using her own power to transport herself and the others all back to the hospital as well.

"Mom?" the Savior uttered worryingly as she appeared and immediately rushed over to Killian's bedside upon seeing Whale fighting to resuscitate the pirate captain in the moment he stopped breathing. "Dad? No… Killian! Hold on."

The Savior pushed between her parents and their friends, including Belle who had joined them upon being there to have Whale check on her baby, and leaned over her true love while the doctor took a few steps back, then she tenderly laid her hands over the deep wound in his stomach to emit her power to heal, feeling her magic as it began to flow through her until her tremors returned and both of her hands started to shake.

Emma let out a cry in despair as she struggled against her fear that was trying to prevent her from healing him. Her mother and father reached out to lay their hands over her back and shoulders to reassure her she could save him. Archie then reached out from across Killian's bed to lay a hand over one of her own reassuringly as well upon understanding her struggle to do what was needed of her to save Killian more than the others did, since Emma had been coming to speak with him about her fears of the prophecy claiming she was destined to die in one final battle still to come.

She looked up at him while he smiled sadly at her, then turned to look down at Killian's pale face despite the fever raging through him and she leaned in close to kiss him before she lovingly whispered, "I love you, Killian. Please… don't leave me. I need you."

At last, her tremors stopped and her magic continued to flow through her body into his as his wound slowly healed and his fever faded until they finally vanished. Killian didn't awaken right away, which worried her as well as the others surrounding her. But when Dr. Whale stepped forward again to check his vitals, he then assured her that he was stabilized.

Snow looked up at the doctor while she asked, "If that's true, why isn't he waking?"

"I don't know," the doctor responded. "We all saw it. He's been healed. The wound is gone, his fever's gone, and from the coloring in his face… I'd say his blood's been fully replenished, otherwise he'd still be pale as a ghost."

"Please… please don't ever use that word again," Regina replied when she couldn't stop herself from thinking about trying to hold back the mindless souls from tearing Hook and the rest of them apart upon hearing him use the term, 'ghost'. "I really hate Halloween."

David spoke up in agreement saying, "I think after today, we all do."

All of a sudden, Killian gasped when he finally awoke and at first he struggled to breathe on account of the fear he still felt upon being trapped within his own mind and body for so long while the mindless souls remained in control over him. Emma reached out as she laid her hands over him. One against the right side of his face and her other over his chest to help calm him so he could get his breathing under control. Once he did, he opened his eyes again weakly and then saw the woman he loved looking down at him at last, smiling as she did.

She wiped away the tears in her eyes with the back of her hand she had laid against his chest before settling it back over him again, then spoke to him again as she whispered, "There you are. You did it, Killian. You forced them out and you came back to me. I knew you could. I have always believed in you."

"You mean… once you finally accepted you care… cared about me the night we came back through Zelena's time portal?" he asked her smugly with a grin. "When you could no longer… no longer resist my devilishly handsome face and rugged charm?"

"Yes," she answered him with a soft laugh. "That's what I mean. I love you, Killian. So much."

Killian continued to look into her eyes while he softly responded, "And I you, Swan."

The next morning…

Dr. Whale at last released the Captain from the hospital upon keeping him there overnight just to make sure that he would remain strong and healthy after all he had been through. He tried to argue, but Emma had been the one to insist he do so. And she stayed with him the entire time, refusing to hardly leave his side to get herself some sleep or something to eat, except to make a call to Henry like she promised she would in order to assure him that Killian was going to be alright. So, her parents left and returned a little later with some food for them.

However, she left an hour before he was released after he encouraged her to keep her appointment scheduled for that morning, so she could talk for a short time with Archie about all that had happened, including her fears upon believing for a brief moment that Killian, still trapped under the control of the souls which possessed him, might be the figure under the hood within her visions despite having seen him standing beside Henry in them too, and that she hated herself for even thinking he could be.

Archie understood where she was coming from and lessened her fear by reminding and assuring the Savior that she had succeeded in saving the man she loved. That the ghosts were back within the Underworld where they belonged. Then, he offered her some advice to help encourage her not to take a step back in her progress by taking back her asking Killian to move in with her. Emma smiled as she shook her head, telling the doctor she couldn't wait for him to do so. She thanked him for his help and encouragement, then left to return to the hospital so she could walk with Killian back home.

However, before they returned home, Killian told Emma he needed to know something which only Gold had the answer to, and together they walked inside the Dark One's shop where the man was examining one of his artifacts he kept under his magnifying glass. When they entered, he glared up at them, but didn't say a word, waiting for them to begin what he knew was to be a confrontation because of the anger he saw in Hook's eyes.

Killian looked darkly at him from across the glass counter while he stated coldly, "I need to know the truth once and for all, Crocodile. All this time, I believed you had spoken the truth about what happened to Milah when you helped Emma and her to rescue me from Hades' prison in the Underworld. That Hades had been the one to force her into the River of Lost Souls. But she was inside my head. She told me that it was really you who had done so her. Is it true? Did you doom her for a second time to an even worse fate than simply by crushing her heart?"

"Are you really going to believe that mindless tormented husk she's become after everything it and the other lost souls made you suffer, Captain?" the Dark One callously questioned him. "They were playing games with you. To hurt you in every way they could. You can't seriously believe anything you saw or heard in your head."

"Answer me!" Hook angrily retorted when the villain didn't actually do so.

Gold looked down while he replied, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Emma's eyes darkened like Killian's had as she said sternly, "You're lying. You did push her into that river."

"Yes I did," he finally answered truthfully. "Not because I wanted to, but because Hades would have made sure I lost my second chance to be a father. He would have made sure a deal I once made long ago came to pass and I couldn't allow that to happen."

"So you killed Milah twice in order to correct your own selfish mistake?!" Killian shouted, while Emma gently laid her hand over the small of his back to try to console him as she kept her eyes on the Dark One as well. "First, you took away my sacrifice when I died to rid our world of the darkness once and for all so you could take back your precious power, then you destroyed Milah's soul by forcing her into the River of Lost Souls like you did the others except for David's brother, and on top of all that… you lied by telling us it was Hades who had done that to her. You evil bastard!"

The Dark One chortled cruelly and he simply responded, "Guilty. I am after all… a villain. Perhaps you need a reminder."

He then raised his hand and suddenly began to choke Killian with his power as he had done a number of times. However, Emma immediately emitted her own power against him to force the villain into the air above their heads and against the wall behind him to stop him from hurting the man she loved, keeping the Dark One in place despite his belief that his own power was far stronger than hers. When in truth the Savior's magic was even more so. Once she saw Killian was safe and able to get his breathing back under control, she finally released her hold.

She glared at Gold again and replied crossly, "One day you will regret all the evils you've done, only once you finally lose everything you care about. I don't know if we'll see it when it happens. But I hope then you will find whatever good might still be in you because of Belle, Neal, and your unborn child, and find a way to redeem your own soul. If you ever try to hurt Killian again in any way, I promise you… I will make you regret it."

"Come on, Killian," she then whispered, as she turned back to the man she loved and led him outside again, which he didn't fight her on.

"Are you alright?" she finally asked him in worry when she stepped around in front of him after they had walked a few feet down the street to get away from the pawnshop so that she could look into his eyes again, until he looked down and away from her in what she sadly recognized on his face to be that of shame, upon seeing him wear such a face far more often than she liked. "Killian? It's okay. You did nothing wrong just now and what Gold did to Milah… it wasn't your fault. Not either time. You loved her."

Still without lifting his head to look back at her, Killian spoke softly saying, "After you took my heart to give me the strength I needed to push them out, I ran my sword through Milah's chest when we fought in a duel for control. I felt like I had killed her all over again, even though I knew it wasn't really her any longer. A part of her was still in my mind, Emma. I could feel the others too. Pan… your father's brother… even Gaston, though I never knew him in life. A part of them all was real."

The Savior laid one hand over his heart in his chest and the other she settled gently over his cheek again, then she answered him lovingly, "You only did as you had to do to come back to me. The woman you loved before me… she would have understood that. I know she would have. She wanted you to be happy, Killian."

"Aye, love," he responded to her when he finally raised his head again to look into her eyes. "Thank you. What do you say we go home?"

"I'd love to," Emma whispered, then leaned in to kiss him, and he her.

The End


	25. Thank You

Thank you to all who have read and have written reviews for my story! You are much appreciated. I am so incredibly grateful for your kindness and generosity. I'm deeply honored and I hope to hear from you all again, should you choose to read and enjoy more of my work in the future. There will be more stories to come. Best of wishes to you all!

Sincerely,

Genevieve Kelly


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